They were the same nightmares that haunted her for the last week. The events of her wedding repeating over and over. Other past memories making their way through. Gaston’s death and memories of Rumpelstiltskin…It was as if her mind was confused, torn. Although emotions such as those shouldn’t have existed; Gaston was dead and Rumpelstiltskin had pushed Belle away.

The whisper’s entered her ears, it sounded like they were apart of her memories and dreams. Voices of surprise, intrigue, happiness and even excitement. The steady clopping of the horse’s hooves, the subtle rise and fall as the large animal moved. The villagers watched, momentarily forgetting the fire that burned within the forest as Mushu slowly trotted through the town. The small woman watched them all, as if she was looking for something, someone.

Mushu’s head snapped to her left as she heard Belle’s name being called out from a distance, an older, stalkier man running through the villagers, pushing through them. She pulled back on the reins, the horse not stopping immediately.

Belle’s name was still being called out by the man as he approached. It sounded distant to her ears, slowly it grew closer, louder until the voice boomed in her ears. But that wasn’t the reason Belle’s eyes shot open. It was the burning pain that seared through her right hand. Looking down at her limb she watched in fear as tears swelled in her eyes. Bones breaking and reforming, black claws breaking through her human fingernails. The pain travelled through her veins, up her arm and neck, across her chest and face. Her eyes began to glow in an unnatural manner.

Raising her head she looked around, the buildings were familiar, hauntingly so. Belle’s name was called once more as she looked over in fear. Her father approached, her sisters not far behind. She hadn’t time to say anything as she struggled through the pain, attempting to get off the horse. The animal reared in fear and pain as her newly forming claws dug into it’s flesh. The animal knocked her off, Belle wincing as she hit the stone path, Mushu attempting to calm the large horse. Belle felt a soft touch, her back arched as he spine pushed out, viciously pressing against the fabric of her dress that began to tear. She met her father’s gaze briefly, her eyes vicious. A scream of pain escaped her as more fabric began to tear. Her body beginning to change more rapidly, slowly expanding and growing larger. Belle tried to move, run…to get away but the pain had her pinned.

Her dress was sprawled across the stone road in rags. In Belle’s place there was something else, it was large, thick, covered in dark brown fur, similar to the colour of Belle’s hair. It panted for a few moments. Slowly the beast moved, it began to rise, at first just on four legs, like a dog. Although much larger than it seemed moments ago it wasn’t till it came to it’s full height on it's two hind legs that the people of the village began to panic. It’s long tail swaying from side to side as it slowly turned around. Belle’s father watched in true horror as he slowly stepped back. It’s eyes were a burning amber, the same colour as Belle’s eyes. This gaze held hunger, a great amount of hunger. Fully turning it’s body around the beast looked at all the humans that began to scatter, a low growl rumbling in it’s throat.

"Look out! That beast killed Gaston!" One villager shouted in terror as he tried to sway the children from approaching the beast in their juvenile curiosity. It had only been assumed that Belle had died after chasing after this very same beast on the day of her wedding. However watching the beauty transform into the beast with their very own eyes, the villagers were starting to piece together what had really happened.

Looking down at the closest human, the beast approached the elderly man. He stumbled backwards, the beast dropping back on all fours with one arm on either side of the man. Maurice, Belle’s father looked up in horror, tears rolling down his cheeks. It snarled at the man, fangs bare. It roared at the man and before being able to proceed with the kill, the creature’s head shot to the right, an irritating pain stabbing at it’s shoulder. A weapon of some sorts stuck out from the fur, the creature grabbed it and yanked it out as it roared at it’s assailant.

The small female, Mushu, ran towards the horse and quickly jumped on it. Spurring the large horse they tore off, the beast following behind with a surprising amount of speed for it’s size.

Materializing in front of his castle, Rumpelstiltskin took the first few steps up to the front doors when he slowed to a stop, his mind far from easy. Belle was safe now, and that's all he had ever wanted for her, but he couldn't keep doing this to himself...getting...involved...

The Imp took a seat on one of the stone steps and rubbed his eyes tiredly, looking out to the horizon where the forest he had set on fire lay miles ahead. In a way, burning down the forest represented the emotions boiling up in The Dark One's heart, and so...just how he had burnt the forest down to start new, cleansing it of all it's evils...so must he. Belle did not love him, and so he could not keep holding onto her. He had to stop blaming himself for what had happened to her and let her go forever. He had talked her out of loving him easily enough, and now he had to convince himself that he did not love her in return. Had she not turned on him in the first place, she wouldn't have ever become the beast. At least...that's what he kept trying to tell himself...

---

Two Weeks Ago...

Once again, Rumpelstiltskin was left entirely alone in The Dark Castle, doing what he did best to drain the time of day and stood at the spinning wheel, watching numbly as the wheel squeaked and turned. Despite the castle being completely empty aside from the Imp, the area held a solemn quiet haunting even The Dark One Himself.

Rumpelstiltskin didn't even so much as budge when he felt a magical presence entering his home, nor did he even stop his spinning when he lock that held the room in which he was spinning's door shut break and shatter as if it had been made of glass. The grand double doors opened and a woman stepped into the room as if she owned the place.

"Flimsy locks." The woman half-giggled as she entered the room which finally brought the Imp to look at her. " I have a deal to discuss...a certain...mermaid..." The woman went on, stopping at the table in the center of the room before she reached Rumpelstiltskin. On the table was nothing more than a simple tea set, comprised of a small kettle and two tea cups, all sitting nestled on a silver tray.

"I'm not dealing today." Rumpelstiltskin replied, turning his head back to the wheel and away from the woman. To those who were familiar with Rumpelstiltskin's way of speaking, the drastic change in his voice would have alarmed anyone as it held no child-like giggle, no snark...nothing but...normality...and possibly even sadness. The woman began to help herself to the tea left on the table, though stopped when she noticed the change in the Imp's voice.

"Are you angry with me?" She asked, holding the tea kettle paused in the air as she was just about to pour it into the cup. "What is it this time?" She asked when the Imp didn't answer and resumed pouring her tea.

"Your little deception...failed." Rumpelstiltskin finally replied and only then did he return his attention to the woman helping herself to his tea. "You'll never be more powerful than me. You can keep trying dearie, but you're never gonna beat me..."

The woman met the Imp's gaze and held a knowing smirk, hearing the slow increase in Rumpelstiltskin's blood-lustful voice. She set down the tea cup and kettle back on the table and approached the Imp, her lips curled out in a false pout.

"Ohh, is this about that girl I met on the road? Hmmm?" She asked, her voice dripping with mockery. Rumpelstiltskin returned his attention to the spinning wheel before him. The woman let out a cold laugh as she returned to the table and to her cup of tea.

"What was her name?" The woman went on, picking up the tea cup and raised it to her lips. "Margie? Verna..." She went on, trying to recall the name on her own.

Rumpelstiltskin stopped spinning, if but for a moment.

"Belle..."

"Right...well, you can rest assured I had nothing to do with that arrangement..." The woman replied almost instantly, conjuring up a silver spoon from thin air and began to stir the tea in her cup around, keeping her back to Rumpelstiltskin to hide the smirk on her lips. Rumpelstiltskin felt his blood freeze over, his heart dropping to his boots...

"What arrangement?" He practically demanded, pulling himself away from the spinning wheel to approach the woman at his table.The woman pulled the spoon from her mouth, her eyes wide as she turned to face him, her expression now quite shocked.

"You don't know?" She asked, astounded. When Rumpelstiltskin didn't reply, only looking at her coldly, she set the spoon and cup of tea down onto the tray and turned to face him once more. "Well...after she got home...you can only imagine the things she told the villagers about you, but between you and me, they didn't need a whole lot of convincing to hate you even more than they already do; kidnapping that poor girl and what-have-you..." Rumpelstiltskin's dark eyes narrowed, not buying into what the witch before him was saying. He knew Belle, she would never turn on him like that...but he let the woman go on. "The whole village knows about you Rumpel, and they are determined to kill you for what you did to her. I need not remind you that the girl's fiance' is the son of a well-known huntsman...and he knows about the dagger..." The Imp's face let up a bit, his eyes letting-on that now he wasn't so sure if he believed her words or not.

"You're lying..." Came his eventual reply, but the uneasiness in his voice made the woman laugh and quirk an eyebrow.

"Am I?" She challenged. "But...perhaps not all is lost...you see, the son of the huntsman is fearful that you might try to take her back, and so he arranged an immediate wedding. Rest assured there won't be any angry mobs at your front door until after that's passed. You know how the common folk are with their pitiful celebrations. But...perhaps...if something...tragic were to happen at the wedding..." Rumpelstiltskin pulled himself from whatever dark hole the woman was burying his heart in and shook his head no, pointing a finger at her.

"We're done here." He waved his hand, the double doors of the room opening up magically as if to show her the way out and Rumpelstiltskin walked to the doors themselves, stopping at the threshold with an arm gesturing for her to leave. He wasn't going to allow this woman to plant thoughts into his head; he would not be played like a puppet. The woman shrugged and walked towards him slowly.

"Fine, I have other house-calls to make." She said with a light chuckle, dragging her finger on the table as she walked towards him and looked upon the dust that gathered upon her finger. "Hmmm...place is looking dusty Rumpel..." She said meeting him at the doorway. "You should get a new girl." The woman smiled and took her leave.

Rumpelstiltskin closed his eyes hard, waiting until the witch had left his house completely before magically shutting the doors once more. He walked to the table and picked up the cup that the woman hadn't used for her tea and admired the small chip the cup had on the rim. If what Regina had said was true, then Belle was to be married, and then he would be hunted down like an animal. He wasn't sure which of those he felt worse about. Rumpelstiltskin delicately set the chipped cup back down on the tray, his eyes now growing full of anger and determination.

"No...no I'm not finished yet..." Rumpelstiltskin said out loud to himself and his dark eyes moved to the small cupboard in the corner of the room in which he kept his most powerful potions...and cracked a smile.

---

Rumpelstiltskin pulled himself from his thoughts, his eyes now embedded on the rose he had picked up that he held in his knotted hand and felt the pressure of the bloody thorn and rat tail he had kept away in his pocket.

"There's only one more thing I can do for you Belle, and then I'm done...forever...I have to be."

Rumpelstiltskin waved his hand and the rose disappeared in a swirl of purple smoke.

Collaboration between Ghost Shadow, YoshiSkittlez, and GuardianAngelHaruki

---

Alexandre swept through the halls of the castle with a slight swagger to his step, obviously used to, and pleased with his new human form. As he walked, he was singing a song under his breath, though he phrased it more like telling a story than actually singing.

"The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts,
All on a summer day:
The Knave of Hearts, he stole those tarts,
And took them quite away!"

Heather smiled a bit at Alexandre, ignoring his seemingly arrogant walk, and listened as he recited another poem under his breath. As if coming back to reality from his reverie, Alexandre stopped to look back at Dr. Jekyll.

"Well, I dare say we've looked through every room, nook, and cranny of the castle, yes? Or have I missed anything? If there was one thing useful about being a cat, it was the ability to see far better than a human could." He informed in an almost lecturing fashion.

"I believe we have looked around in every place we could access," Heather answered Alexandre. She was somewhat slightly distracted by the baby blanket she found in one of the bedrooms. The baby blanket was old and ratty, something the poorest of the poor would use to wrap their child in and the name Baelfire was crudely stitched into that blanket with red thread. Why would Rumpel have this particular baby blanket?

She snapped out of her thoughts when she looked out of the window and saw Rumpel standing at the front doors. She backed away from the window, and noticed that the sun was setting. She said to Alexandre, clearly nervous and unsettled, but trying to remain calm, "He's back!"

Alexandre, too, looked at the blanket with keen interest; jumping in surprise at Heather's sudden outburst of Rumpel's return.
"Thrice-damned wretch. I'm not afraid of him." He declared, though it was an obvious lie. There was no one in the Enchanted Forest who wasn't afraid of Rumpelstiltskin - well, no one alive, that is. Heather quickly put the baby blanket back down where she had found it and hurried off to the kitchens. Alexandre silently followed Heather, albeint at a more casual pace, a heavy stride to his steps as opposed to the smooth, prideful posture he had earlier.

"Keep calm, my dear. What's the worst he'll do?" Alexandre asked, as if trying to comfort her before abruptly stopping himself. Heather gave him a skeptical look that silently asked him if he was being serious right now.
"No, wait, bad metaphor. Everything will be fine." He reassured, flashing a comforting, if not hollow grin. After he amended himself, Heather sighed.
"Thanks. But you saw how childish he acted. If he turns out to be a picky eater, then I'm either going to switch with Hyde, or going to be dead! If I didn't have Hyde's sense of smell, I would still call you a liar,"

She tested the soup by lifting up the lid, and saw that it was still hot indicative by the steam that rose into the air. Thank Heavens! She placed the lid back onto the pot and she mumbled,
"OK. Where the heck does he keep the dishes and silverware...? Does he even have those things...?" She never felt so nervous before. It was very much like the times right before the meetings with the Board of Science in London.

"Do I really look like I know?" Alexandre asked her, exasperated. He strolled about the kitchens nonchalantly, as if trying to force the illusion upon himself that everything was alright. His hands were in his coat pockets and he was whistling a tune to himself.

"No. No, you don't. Sorry," Heather quickly apologized as she looked around. She honestly felt like she was going to start hyperventilating, and tried to slow her breathing down as she continued her search.

"I'm sure he could conjure a bowl or two if need be. And even if he did get mad, he wouldn't kill you, because you're still worth something to him, and two: if you do turn to Hyde, will you give me a heads-up? I'd like to 'chat'." He said with a flashy grin.

She stopped momentarily to look at Alexandre.
"You do realize there's a chance that she could kill you while you're chatting with her, right?"

She soon found the bowl, utensils, and the ladel. As she served up the soup in the bowl, she asked Cheshire "Are you going to talk to Rumpelstiltskin?" She was curious if he was still intent on going through with that plan, or if he was just going to leave, considering he had his human body back.

"I like to be spontaneous - we'll see what happens." Alexandre replied cryptically, running a stray hand through his hair. "You really think Hyde would try and kill me? I know she wanted to get 'closer'." He said with a chuckle, but otherwise was neutral as he spoke.

His answer about being spontaneous worried Heather even more. She answered him, "I wouldn't put it past her. She may do it after you two got...'closer',"

She kept her ears open for the two front doors to open. Considering that she saw Rumpel at the doors from the second story, she calculated that he would be in this castle by now. So...why wasn't he?

She decided not to question this out loud, and just take it as good luck on her part.

"I do hope that my dinner is ready." Rumpelstiltskin said cheerily, parading himself into the main entrance of the castle calling out to the only person he believed to be in his home. With a twist of his wrist, the doors that had been previously locked that led into the grand hall in which Rumpelstiltskin spent most of his time, opened up and the Imp walked through the threshold, his eyes immediately going to the table in the center of the room. Noticing that the table looked just the same as he had left it; dusty and empty, he furrowed his brows but went to the head of the table and took a seat, folding his hands together and resting them on the wooden table and called for Heather Jekyll once more.
"Come on out dearie, no need to be shy!"

Heather jumped when his voice called for her, hoping that dinner was ready. She quickly served the soup into the bowl and hurried as fast as she could to the table where he was sitting, without spilling a drop. She made a mental note that if she ever saw Poole or any of her maids, she would thank them. She said to Rumpel politely as she arrived to the table,

"I apologize for the wait," She placed the soup in front of him, neatly with the silverware and backed away. She remained calm and composed despite his latest call.

Rumpelstiltskin looked at the bowl of soup laid out before him and eyed it skeptically before turning to look at her, as if expecting her to do something.
"Well?" He asked after a few silent moments. "Are you going to eat with me or not?"

Heather thought that she was going to be treated like the maids and servants in her world: that she would have to just wait for him to be done before she could eat. She was caught by surprise when he asked his question, her eyebrows raised and she answered awkwardly, "O-Oh. Yes. I'll be right back,"

She then walked off to get her own bowl, getting over her surprise. However, she couldn't help but feel even more nervous for a reason she could not explain. She tried to calm herself down by telling herself that if she was eating at the same time he was, then it would show him that the soup wasn't poisoned or something like that. Could he even be poisoned? She'd rather not test that.

She got back to the kitchen and she got out two more bowls. She said to Alexandre, "If you want a bowl of soup, help yourself,"

She served a bowl for herself, and then headed back out to that table, with a silent sigh to calm herself.

Rumpelstiltskin was practically finished with his bowl of soup by the time Heather came back, while she was gone he ran a simple incantation over it to ensure that she hadn't tried to poison him. He wasn't sure whether or not to be happy that she hadn't. He let his eyes look up at Heather once she entered the room once more and issued out his hand in a gesture for her to sit at the other end of the table so that she would be facing him, his attention now long-gone from his own soup and watching her carefully eating hers in the ominious silence.

When Heather came back, she was surprised to see that he was already finished, and she felt slightly embarrassed. When he gestured to the other end of the table, she nodded and sat there. She retained the good table manners that were taught to her when she was very young (even if the teaching then was very strict).

"Well, this is quite dreary." Alexandre announced as he stepped into the dining room, hands in his coat pockets once again. His sudden arrival kept Heather from eating for the moment. "I'm satisfied, Imp. For once you've actually come through on your end of the deal." He said coldly, acting much like he did before he was human.

"And stop staring at the doctor like that." He added on, "I know who you really have eyes for." He said with another smile, though this one was menacing and grim, like a calm before a storm. He knew he was pushing the Imp, and made a mental note not to snap the line of his patience; but he wasn't going to show fear, show weakness.

Heather listened to him speak, worried that he may be pushing his luck when it came to this imp. Rumpelstiltskin already seemed angry enough. She was a bit grateful when he asked the imp to stop staring at her, but she couldn't help but be a bit curious as to who the imp had eyes for.

Rumpelstiltskin set down the spoon he still held in his gnarled hand and tilted his head to the side thoughtfully as his eyes moved up from Heather to the man now making himself known in the room.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" The Imp asked him eerily calmly, especially for someone who just realized there was a potential stranger in his home.

Alexandre did not answer, instead strolling over to an empty chair at the table, removing his coat, placing it around the back, and sitting down.

"You know who I am." He finally said, his face as solid as stone; and just as cold. "I figured I'd stay here for awhile before going back home...is there a home? I never liked getting involved in politics." He said, almost as if speaking aloud to himself than to anyone else in the room. However, unannounced, almost abruptly; Alexandre stood from his spot and swept his coat back on.

"Oh, Imp...before I go," he began nonchalantly, as if talking to an old friend, "I've...seen Her around." He started, his mouth twitching at the corner. He was without a doubt that Rumpel knew who he was talking about.

Rumpelstiltskin stood from his own chair, though his demeanor was more out of respect since a guest at his own table was standing. He only snickered a bit, closing the gap between himself and the man he knew better as a grinning cat in a leasurly manner.
Jekyll stood as well, sensing that something very bad was going to happen. It was obvious just from how Alexandre started speaking after he had stood up.

Alexandre leaned in close, "She *despises* you. Monster, Liar, Cheater, the names go on and on. I would recommend finding some other poor girl to stalk." He straightened his posture before turning to head towards the door. Heather widened her eyes and started warily.

"Alexandre...you should stop...now,"

Rumpelstiltskin tilted his head to the side once again, thoughtfully wearing a twisted smile hiding the boiling rage consuming his thoughts. Though without warning, his arm struck in the blink of an eye and the Imp's hand was burried deep inside of Alexandre's chest. His fingers found the small organ inside of his ribs and enclosed around it, squeezing tightly before ripping the heart out of Alexandre's chest and holding it delicately in his own hand. Alexandre could do little but croak out a deep groan of pain as the Imp's hand penetrated his chest and pulled out his heart. This was it. He had crossed the line. His face was a mixture of absolute pain, shock, and terror as to what was going to happen next.

"You aren't fit to speak of her. Not to me...not to anyone." Rumpelstiltskin whispered calmly, leaning in to speak into Alexandre's ear, all the while his fingers squeezing hard on the still beating heart in his hand, watching Alexandre squirm around in pain with sheer amusement.

Heather couldn't believe what she saw. She gasped and her hands were covering her mouth as she witnessed Rumpelstiltskin rip Alexandre's heart out. She expected that Alexandre would collapse dead from that, but instead he was still standing and was squirming in pain, defying the medical laws Heather knew well. She wanted to tell Rumpelstiltskin to stop, but she couldn't find her own voice, and Hyde was commenting on how interesting this was, preventing Heather from doing anything except watching.

Alexandre's face was practically drenched with sweat, all feeling replaced by sharp pain and a dull, horrible ringing in his ears. "Then...finish...it." He practically coughed out, still managing to find some sort of defiance.

"I....I have...nothing...nothing to l-lose. Not ev-even you can hold m-me." He spat, feeling his legs start to buckle before collapsing onto the floor. His knees took the hit hard and would have caused quite a bit of pain - had he not been suffering excruciating amounts of it currently.

Rumpelstiltskin's hand let up on the organ, just enough to ease the pain he was giving Alexandre, though only slightly. The Imp's grin widened and let out an unsettling giggle.
"Oh yes yes yes yes, but you see, that's what makes it even more important that you live." He mused. With his free hand, Rumpelstiltskin pulled Alexandre to his feet and jammed the heart back into his chest with a little bit more force than was actually needed before pushing Alexandre's body away from his own.

Right after Rumpelstiltskin shoved Alexandre, Heather snapped out of her shocked stupor and hurried over to Alexandre, checking on him to make sure that he was ok, and didn't have any wounds. Imagine her surprise to find that there was no wound in his chest, where his heart had just been ripped out.

"Oh! Didn't you mention something about returning home? Well...the least I can do is help you along with that..." Rumpelstilskin went on, his voice now no longer a whisper but that of his usual child-like tone.

Heather looked to Rumpelstiltskin when he spoke, worried that he would do something else that was just as terrible when he mentioned the cat's home. Alexandre had little time to react after having his heart forcefully shoved back into his chest.
"No...no, you wouldn't." He pleaded, completely defeated. Any shred of rebellious or defiant thoughts were quelled, leaving him fully out in the open: a coward.

Heather asked Rumpelstiltskin, controlling herself so as to not show fear or the anger she felt, "Haven't you done enough?!"

A smirk only came across Rumpelstiltskin's face as he looked at the two, their pitiful pleas music to his ears. He shook his head no in answering Heather's question and raised his hand, bringing two of his fingers together now concentrating his dead eyes on Alexandre.
"There will never be enough that I can do to him that the coward hasn't already done to himself dearie." He answered darkly.
"Give the Queen my best then?" He asked Alexandre cheerily and snapped his fingers. Immediately, a swirl of purple smoke encased Alexandre, snaking around Heather as if she weren't there and with the blink of an eye, Alexandre and the smoke had vanished from The Dark Castle.

(Collaboration Post Featuring YoshiSkittlez's Red Riding Hood, Huntress's Belle, & Major Ursa's Black Night)

It didn't take long for Red, accompanied by Night and his horse, to make it to the river that divided the land from the forest and the village. With a tremendous bounding leap, Red cleared the seven-foot-wide river and landed deftly on the other side, turning to look back at Night for a moment who was still a pretty far ways back. A sudden new scent filled the wolf's nose, causing her to put the red cloak down delicately on the unburned green grass and sniff at the air. The villagers...a few miles down the stream...something had them in a panic and it was too intense and immediate for it to be just the fire that slowly burned its way towards their village. There was another scent...something Red hadn't come across before...something with bad breath...

Keeping pace behind the werewolf, there were a few moments where Night alternated between walking and brisk walking. There wasn't much of a strain, especially since they were now out of the burning woods, and the night he personified was slowly nearing. Coming to a river, and watching the wolf leap over it...he couldn't just bring himself to do similar, since he wanted to maintain his intimidating armour, even if it did restrict much of his movements. Walking around or looking for a small bridge could take some time, but he didn't want to have his new companion wait too long for him. And so, Night dropped into the water with a very audible splash.

A full minute passed, still water and no bubbles, before the top of his helmet became visible as he trudged out of the water and onto the mud of the shores. Ignoring how wet he had become, the water still pouring out of his gnarly armour in sections, Night resumed following the werewolf...but after a moment, she dropped her cloak onto some unburned grass to sniff the air carefully.

If it were possible to identify when a wolf was shaking its head and sighing, that was exactly what Red was doing. She pawed at the red cloak on the grass until it was hidden amongst the roots of a nearby bush and turned to look at Night before her glowing eyes looked back to the village. Whatever this...'Wraith' decided to do now was all on him, but Red couldn't just stand idly by when a village was in immediate danger. So, in having no other way to communicate this to the man in black, Red turned to trot down the path that led to the small village.

After what must have been a moment for thought, the werewolf haphazardly went to hide her cloak in a hole dug under some bushes...which felt rather urgent, especially since the forest was pretty much still on fire, and had the potential to spread. This was proven by the burnt grass. The bush wasn't safe, the cloak wasn't either. Turning to point this out, the werewolf was already bounding away to whatever emergency seemed to distract her away from hiding her important personal belonging. Reaching down to the bush, Night brushed the dirt off of the cloak carefully.

It seems like it was made of an interesting material, and was kept in careful condition. Brushing off more dirt from it, Night dispersed the material darkness of his gnarled armour long enough to tuck the folded red cloak away. Letting out another long sigh, something that seemed to happen more frequently with his new friend, the shade went and followed her down the path.

The chase continued, the best growing frustrated. Chasing prey was indeed an exciting task but the fun was over. The large creature picked up the pace, going even faster than before. It began to startle the horse, clawing and biting at its legs. The horse carried on and the beast roared in annoyance. Running next to the horse the horned creature rammed the horse into a nearby home. The wooden walls to the cottage gave way to the force. Regaining itself the beast stood on its hind legs, the slightest hunch in its back as the house was not tall enough for its eight foot height.

There were quick footsteps and pained breaths. Turning around the beast snarled as it caught a second of Mushu’s disappearing figure. Dropping to all fours it roared at the female that ran. A snort of irritation followed as it leapt forward and towards the young woman. Quickly catching up to the small female the beast pinned her to the ground. One clawed hand holding her down with ease. It snarled at the woman fangs bared, saliva dripping from its powerful jaws.

A second, vicious snarl resounded through the new night air. With a sudden whoosh and a blur of black fur, a wolf had bounded to the scene seemingly out of nowhere, jumping over the helpless woman and lunging at the beast that was seconds away from ending the human's life. Being half the size of the beast, however, Red didn't so much as make the beast stumble backwards a few steps. With her mouth open upon the initial attack, however, Red's jaws clenched down on the beasts throat getting nothing but fur as its thick coat seemed to prove to be a lot denser than Red had been counting on.

Taken by surprise the creature stepped back as it felt a fair amount of weight on its back. Feeling the wolf’s fangs pull at fur the beast growled and stood up straight. Having difficulty grabbing the wolf the beast continued to reach. Finally it was able to grab hold of something. Pulling the wolf from its tail the beast managed to rip the animal off its back and toss it some distance. Looking at the canine the beast growled a warning as it stood its ground; fangs bared eyes never leaving the wolf’s.

The wolf yelped in pain upon being thrown to the ground, but Red was back on her four legs in seconds, standing her own ground against the beast twice her size with her own lips curled back, baring her canines threateningly. It was only now that Red got a good look at the beast and knew for certain that some sort of dark magic had to have been involved. There were no real creatures like this, at least not in this area; she knew these forests like she would know her own home and what she was looking at wasn't at all familiar to her. Red walked tentatively towards the beast, putting herself between the beast and the woman who had managed to pull herself back up off of the floor, though her hand cradled her arm heavily where blood had begun to pour.

Red snorted as the smell of blood filled her nose. No doubt the beast in front of her would have picked up on it too. Red snarled at the beast once more, doing what she could to keep its attention away from the bleeding human. She bravely lunged forwards towards the beast, using her massive paw to swipe at the beast’s ankles before retreating back a few paces in the opposite direction of the human and the village and towards the burning forest. She wasn't finished however, as the beast seemed not to care too much for the 'pest' at its ankles.

Red lunged forward again just as soon as she had regained her footing from nipping at the monsters ankles and sunk her teeth around the small base of the tail and clamped her strong jaws shut. If this beast’s tail was as sensitive as hers was, then she knew she had the beast’s attention.

A loud, ear piercing yowl escaped the beast’s throat. Swatting at the wolf the creature roared in annoyance, fur standing on end as it dropped down on all fours, another snarl escaping it. It stepped forward towards the wolf, right hand slashing the smaller creature across the face forcing a pained yelp to come from the wolf and making it drop its grip on the beast’s tail. Getting closer it roared at the wolf once more. This animal was a simple nuisance, getting rid of it wouldn’t be a difficult task. Now that the wolf had the beast’s attention, however, Red backed up, keeping her eyes on the beast as she led it away from the village doing her best to ignore the white-hot sting of pain across her face and hot trickles of blood falling to the ground.

Night took the path down to the village, actually quite pleased that the villagers had fled, leaving the area much abandoned. There were...patches of blood soaked into the dirt from some sort of long fight, but what concerned him the most was the lady down the road pacing around with an injured arm. For the moment, she seemed to be trying to fix herself up, grab her piece of equipment, before going...where? Though she stared further down a village path, she seemed reluctant, even cursing under her breath. Another thing Night took quite a notice of was her lack of fear towards him, at least, she didn't seem to feel his presence nor shrink away from him as he continued to approach.

"With that arm injury, I don't think continuing a pursuit of any kind would be choice."

"You couldn't possibly understand, I have a deal to keep." The woman said, suddenly seeming to make up her mind and ventured off towards where the wolf and beast had gone.

The shade didn't quite understand why people wanted to cause him so much grief. Shaking his head in disbelief, "Are you kidding me? What are you so insistent on--" It was at that moment, going over and taking a look, that Night noticed the werewolf again...this time, bloodied, brutalised severely, still in a fight with some kind of beast. It didn't look natural, from anything he'd seen in his travels, though unnatural...maybe some semblance to magically fused creatures. Magic. It wasn't a sure thing, but he didn't even like the idea in his mind.

Letting out a loud whistle, Night wasn't entirely surprised at how fast his horse came onto the scene. From how smart and well trained it was, he was almost certain it already knew of the situation, and had been waiting on standby for certain orders. Through his helmet, he met the eyes of his horse before striding over to the beast on beast battle, stopping for only a moment before pointing at the woman, "Don't let her interfere." The horse let out a loud neigh, its equivalent of an 'affirmative', before trotting to stand in front of the small petite lady.

The woman seemed to scowl at this, and tried to walk around it, but the horse blocked her. The woman tried to duck under the large horse, but is lowered itself so that there wouldn't be enough space for her to try it...and when she tried to catch it off guard and jump up over it, the horse lifted it head and knocked the side of the woman, while simultaneously catching the collar of her shirt and slamming her down in front of it. After a moment, both the horse and the woman got up...this seemed to be the last straw for the woman as she drew out a knife with her uninjured arm, but the horse thought little of it. Blocking the woman's approach, and side-stepping a jab, the horse head-butt the woman (rather gently) flat onto the ground. Using a hoof to knock the blade away, it stood over the woman and neighed triumphantly.

The smaller animal was faster than the beast, but that didn’t deter the creature. It was determined to destroy this animal. The scent of the wolf’s blood had already entered its nose. Pushing forward as hard as the beast could, it launched itself forward. The two tumbled in a mess of fur, claws and fangs. Yelps and whimpers escaping each creature. Tumbling out of the mess the beast shook its horned head and roared. Running towards the wolf, the creature’s heavy blow was dodged by a hair. The tree it charged into not standing a chance as it snapped and fell over. The pained howling and whimpers from the wolf echoed through the night sending shivers down the spine of any villager that was unfortunate enough to be standing close enough to hear it.

Turning to meet the wolf’s eyes the beast’s upper lip trembled in a vicious snarl. It paced and watched the wolf, their gazes were fierce, Red determined to keep the beast away from the village at all costs despite the blinding pain in her side. The beast stepped forward and the wolf stepped back. The horned creature snorted. Stepping forward quickly again the wolf once again moved away, as if it was playing with the beast. This time the larger creature reached out and managed to grab the wolf by its hind leg claws digging into flesh as it was pulled back against its will. Blood began to pour from the wolf's hind leg and Red could feel her skin and muscle being ripped like tissue paper. The wolf let out a blood-curdling yelp of pain, digging her front paws into the earth to try to regain her ground and break free.

Making his way straight into this small battlefield, hearing the sound of his werewolf companion yelping...part of him wanted to brutalise such a monster, but the other, greater part of him saw no reason for special treatment. With a sweeping gesture of his hand, the shadow that the beast cast upon the wolf grew solid around the chimera-like creature's neck like a collar...like a noose. Shrinking enough to choke out the creature's airways. Simple...and concise.

The creature stopped it's attentions on the werewolf, but much too late. Soon, after quite a few moments of pawing at its own neck and the solid shadow, the eight foot tall creature fell upon the ground, unconscious. Dispersing the shadow, Night was confused for a moment when the beast began to change...and then felt ill when it turned into a vulnerable enough looking sort of woman. The shade could have killed...some sort of curse victim!

Turning away to think for a moment, after calming down, Night went over to the werewolf on the ground. Kneeling down, the shade examined its wounds carefully, shaking his head at some of the greater ones. Even now, seeing such horrible wounds, he wanted to kill the beast from moments ago.

The wolf, who had curled up into a small ball the moment she had been released from the beast, looked up at Night with pleading, pained eyes, though they were masked by the mass amounts of caked on blood and dirt matted to her fur. Red didn't even have the strength to whine anymore and gently laid her head down on the blood-stained grass underneath her and let out a tired sigh before letting her heavy eyelids flutter closed.

Now that the threat was gone, Night's horse finally allowed Mushu to approach the area, first looking over Belle to ensure that everything was alright. There was only a slight scrape on her arm where she had stabbed her sword into the beast, but aside from that she looked absolutely normal. She just hoped that Rumpelstiltskin wasn't exactly serious when he said 'not a scratch.'

"We should get them to the village." Mushu finally said to Night, looking over the two as if deciding which one her small stature would be able to carry more easily back to the village.

"Hmph..." Night didn't quite like how this woman presumed to lead him, when she was both injured...and earlier willing to interfere in a fight while injured. Clearly, she wasn't the brightest person here. Or at least, she hadn't been thinking clearly. Ignoring the woman, the shade carefully reached his arms under the werewolf and hefted her up slowly. With his trusty horse approaching just in time, Night hefted the she-wolf up even higher, setting and pushing her onto the horse's back carefully.

Making sure she looked comfortable enough, the personification of night almost turned away...almost, but realised one more thing. Dispersing his chest plate for a moment, he pulled out her red cloak, and spent a good few minutes securing it on her unconscious self. The whole red cloak thing made him curious...really. Tucking a portion of the red cloth under the wolf's head, Night couldn't help whispering to it, "Red, is this your favourite colour...? I may just have to call you by it from now on..." Smiling at the wolf's ear twitching slightly, the shade took hold of the horse's reins, steering it to the direction of a particularly dilapidated looking barn.

---

It took a bit of effort, but Mushu managed to carry the unconscious Belle the hundred or so paces to the nearby barn where Night planned on taking his pet wolf. The more she thought about it, the more sense it seemed to keep Belle away from the village now that most of the villagers had been there to witness her transformation, and frankly she was done saving Belle's hide for one day. She got Belle nestled into a soft spot of hay and dressed the small arm wound with some torn rags from her own outfit before turning to leave the barn.

"I'm going to go check on the villagers, make sure everything is alright and hopefully gain some information and some new clothes for her. She should be fine there, but just...keep an eye on her until I get back. I have some gold on me; I'd be willing to bring back something to eat for all of us as a token of my gratitude..." She offered the man in black.

Reaching a hand over to pat the unconscious wolf through the cloak draped over it, he pulled the cloak over it's exposed face and ears, and grimaced at the woman's offer of food. Night himself could eat, but it...he didn't feel like partaking in food while sitting in a barn with a handful of injured (and even cursed) women, especially since he had nary a scratch on him. And...somehow, even though one could only really blame circumstances, he felt heavy with guilt. Letting his werewolf companion get harmed in such a way, when preventing such a thing could have been as easy as arriving a minute or so earlier, almost killing a cursed woman...

"Food is not my main concern. I have depleted my water supply; I'd prefer a replacement for it more than anything." Only time would heal the rest of the wolf's injury. He'd cleaned up the cuts with the only full water skin he had on him, and done quite a bit of bandaging as well. There were many a things people shouldn't feel obligated about, this was one such situation as the factors barely had anything to do with him...but since he already insisted on shoving a big boot in, Night shouldn't half ass it...Mushu only nodded subtly before slipping out of the barn into the cool night air.

Not soon after Mushu had left did a soft moan come from underneath the cloak. The body underneath the red fabric began to twist and turn a bit until suddenly a human hand came out from under the cloak to pull away at the fabric, letting Red's human face be exposed to the fresh air. The scratch the beast had dealt to her while in wolf form still remained however, three bright red slices that started at the top of her left eyebrow, down over her eye and stopped at the bridge of her nose. Red winced slightly, feeling all of her other injuries take over in her human body but eventually her eyes fluttered open, hardly able to focus on the looming dark figure above her.

"The moon..." Red croaked, licking her dry lips only to taste a mixture of old blood and dirt that had dried up long ago. "...is it still wolfstime?"

Watching Mushu leave and reaching over to pat the werewolf's head through the cloak, Night withdrew his hand quickly at the motion of the hand reaching out. For moments, the shade remained silent, watching...as the now human woman worked to pull the cover of the cloak off of herself. "Wolfstime? At present, it is..."

Red moved to sit herself up but immediately sucked in a deep breath that was in the makings of becoming a painful scream. Her hand shot to her right side, feeling at her ribs where the shooting pain was coming from and groaned out-loud in annoyance, knowing just exactly what had happened.

"You-you gotta get me in the hood." She snapped at Night a bit bitterly. "I'll-" She grimaced in pain again. "I'll turn back if I'm not wearing it..."

"Slowly!" Whispering harshly, though more in a worried manner than in entirely upset one, the whole of his gnarly armour dispersed to reveal normal clothing underneath...but only briefly, before reforming into a long cloak. No longer 'pointy' by his dangerous looking armour, Night helped the young woman sit up properly, before reaching over and pulling the red cloak over. It got dirty again, but that had little relevance in the situation. Draping one end on one shoulder, and pulled the other end to drape over the opposite one..."Magic, is it?" Night twisted the cloak lightly so the werewolf knew what he was referring to.

Each and every movement, however gentle he was, seemed like a thousand hot needles jabbing into her repeatedly. She remained silent though, biting her tongue until she was finally at rest again and safe in her cloak. Nodding faintly, she answered him briefly with a pained laugh. "Something like that...yeah..."

Red took a moment to look up at the man that seemed to tower over her, noticing briefly that the helm was gone and that there was a face underneath the shadowed hood. She couldn't make out any specific details, but enough was there to confirm that he did, indeed, have a face.

"Huh, so you really aren't a Wraith come for my soul then are you?" She halfly-teased.

Peering down at her face briefly, pain was easily enough read right off the bat...at this, the shade could only sigh. At present, it was night, it was his element. But, nothing made you feel more tired than the proof of mortality in the pain of other's injuries. Leaning back against a solid enough bale of hay, Night gave her a funny look (not that she'd be able to see), before scoffing audibly at this point, "Many a thing can take a life, but a soul?"

Red just shook her head but immediately regretted doing so afterwards, gritting her teeth in slight pain before resting herself back to lie on the pile of hay.

"It's probably best you don't know then..." She was silent for a few moments in the quiet barn, the only other sounds Red's keen ears could pick up on were that of the soft breathing of the girl in the hay on the other side of the barn.

"She's going to be alright then?" Red asked, then realizing just how random that might have come off, added, "The girl?"

Hearing the question that annoyed him a little bit, especially since it was quite obvious who had sustained the greater injury...leaning further back, resting an arm on the bale of hay now, Night was in no hurry to answer. But..."The girl is alright...for now. She might not be in a few moments after I tear her soul from her body." Saying this in a matter of fact fashion, he stayed in his relaxed position, waiting whatever response she may have for such a thing said.

Red quirked an eyebrow, though unable to look at him in her lying down position and instead gave the rafters above her head a dirty look.

"Oh so now you're mocking me." She jested and felt her eyes roll a bit, still looking at the rafters but speaking to the man sitting next to her.

Getting up, dusting off pieces of hay here and there, Night went over to where Belle lay in another section of the hay. Though he knelt down beside the unconscious girl, under his cloak, he still faced towards the werewolf, "I have no soul. So...who has a better excuse than I to take another's?"

Hearing the man getting up from his spot, Red immediately sat up, holding her side as pain shot through her in the quick movement; however adrenaline now fuelled her body as she watched the man head over to the unconscious girl.

"Get away from her! She didn’t know what she was doing!" Red demanded in an almost wolf-like snarl. She pulled herself to her feet quickly and attempted to storm over to him, however her leg immediately gave-way under the pressure and Red collapsed down hard onto the dirt floor.

"...why would you defend such a creature that almost tore you clean in two with its bare hands?"

Red attempted to pick herself up off the dirt floor, though did a very poor job at it and ended up settling for just raising her head to look up at him while she laid on her stomach.

"Because I know what she's going through. I know what it's like to lose complete control over something I didn't understand. Did you even look into her eyes? Did you even see how lost and confused she was? I've been there, and no one should ever have to go through that alone the way I did...I don't care what she did or didn't do to fall victim to this curse, going through something like that...alone...that's not even something I would wish on The Dark One himself..."

Listening to the girl laying on the ground for a little while, the shade had turned to face her at this point. After she was done speaking, Night visibly tilted his head thoughtfully at such an answer before turning to face the unconscious girl again, "...are you jobless? It seems like you've had quite a bit of time to think up such an answer for such an obscure question..."

A muscle in Red's jaw tightened as she pulled herself from the dirt and lay back in the soft hay, though now keeping a close watch on the shadow man.

"I don't have to answer that." She said in a huff and folded her arms across her chest, already forgetting about the potentially broken rib in her side and let out an immediate surprised yelp when her arms rested in their folded position.

Letting out a small breath, that soon turned into a long sigh...Night glanced over the unconscious girl before giving the werewolf his summary, "The girl has sustained no injury other than the ones you seemed to have made, but other than that, she may only have some additional light bruising around her neck..."

Turning to fully face 'wolfie', he righted himself and scooped her into his arms which she tried to protest weakly against, only for him to let her down onto a bigger pile of hay moments after. Dropping down to his space again, making himself comfortable, leaning back against the bales of hay...he gave her another long, unreadable stare, "You knew I wasn't going to harm her...why did you even bother getting up?"

Red adjusted herself in the new, softer pile of hay a bit, holding her side to keep her rip from trying to break through the skin if it had indeed broken.

"Because it wouldn't have been the first time my instincts were wrong..." She said, if a bit darkly, her eyes looking off as if remembering something...terrible...

The door to the barn suddenly opened and Mushu scuffled inside holding a small lantern that seemed to light up the unusually dark barn. Her bright brown eyes blinked as she looked at Night and the girl in the red hood lying down next to him, putting two and two together that the wolf was actually a human...or was it the other way around? Frankly, she didn't want to ask.

"I have your water..." Mushu said to Night, untying a flask from her hip and tossed it over to him before moving back over to Belle and set down the lantern next to her sleeping head. "Look...I have to go..." Mushu said, still looking at Belle but obviously still talking to Night. "Just for a little bit. There's a man I need to see, the villagers told me that if I left tonight, I could be at his castle by morning. He can fix all of this...it wasn't part of our deal..."

Heather whirled to see Alexandre disappear in a cloud of smoke. She clenched her fists, feeling helpless that she couldn't help Alexandre. She said nothing to the Imp, while Hyde laughed in her mind about how he was worse than she was. How could he? How could he just send Alexandre to the Queen, right after tearing his heart out? Heather knew that she wouldn't be forgetting this for a very long time, no matter how much she would want to.

The Imp turned to face Heather the moment Alexandre was gone, a casual shrug coming from his shoulders as if he were reading her very thoughts.
"I can teach you to do that you know. Anything you want, you can have, and no one to tell you otherwise...all you need to do...is give into that anger I know you're holding inside you dearie."

Heather was about to refuse, but she heard Hyde's voice echo in her mind, telling her to accept, because it would help in getting revenge for Alexandre, and Hyde promised not to take over if she did. Heather sighed through her nose, giving in to the anger, and somewhat relieved that Hyde wasn't using this chance to take over, and she said to him
"Fine. What do I need to learn first?"

Rumpelstiltskin nodded his head once in approval of her decision and slowly walked to the table where he rested himself against as he turned to look at his apprentice once again.
"Magic is about emotion. Summon up that moment that made you so angry that you would have killed if you could."

Heather listened to what he said, and she did. She recalled one of the people who made her life miserable, and she recalled the moment when she was plenty angry, before she had created Evelyn Hyde...

A few years ago...

Heather stood in front of the board of scientists. Next to her was Dr. Victor Frankenstein. The board was deciding on who they should give the funds to. In a sense, it was up to them to decide whose work was much more important. Heather had taken so much time to make sure that her thesis was accurate, persuasive, and completely backed by evidence. And yet...all of her effort seemed to be in vain. Sir Danvers Carew, the leader of the Board of Scientists, spoke to the both of them
"We have decided to give funding for Dr. Victor Frankenstein's work. Dr. Frankenstein, you may head up to Switzerland to do your work tomorrow,"

Heather sighed with disappointment, while catching the sight of Frankenstein's smirk. Before she could raise any protests, Sir Danvers Carew called "And with that, this meeting is dismissed," He banged the gavel and many people left, leaving Heather to stand alone. The last to leave was Victor Frankenstein himself. He smirked at Heather and he said
"There, you see? My work, for life, is much more important than your pursuit of a fairy tale," Heather glared at Frankenstein and she commented,

"Gloat all you like. I can still find a way to perform my experiments and do my work,"

Frankenstein laughed and said
"If I were you, I'd just give up. After all, there's no place for silly little women, like yourself, when it comes to science,"

Frankenstein left with a smirk, leaving Heather seething in anger. After he had left, and there was nobody else in the building, Heather screamed in anger. She really wanted to kill him...

Heather's fists clenched even more and she muttered the rest of the thought out loud
"...I'd make him my little lab rat before I'd kill him! Show him that my work is important...!"

Rumpelstiltskin watched her with genuine interest, slowly feeling the rage building up inside of her that caused the Imp's grin to widen more and more. With a gentle gesture, he issued Heather to approach him over at the table. Waiting for her to join him, he flicked his wrist and a small tea-lit candle appeared in his hand of which he then set on the wooden surface of the dusty table.

Heather almost didn't notice the gesture, but she did nonetheless, and she approached the table and to him. She made sure that she still had that memory at the front of her mind.
Turning his attention from the unlit candle back to Heather, he used his hand to brush away the brown locks of hair that kept the markings from their earlier scuffle hidden and waved his hand over the injuries. Just as it had before with Hyde, small, airy wisps of purple strands of magic circled around his hand but unlike last time, the cuts and bruises began to heal themselves, almost instantly until there was absolutely no indication that he had been beating her beforehand. Heather could feel the wounds and bruises heal themselves, but she remained quiet and still.

"You hold onto that memory dearie, and you hold onto power." Rumpelstiltskin smiled softly, returning his hand to his side before turning to look at the candle on the table. "Now light it."

Heather was tempted to just use the practical method and use a lighter, but knew that that wasn't what Rumpelstiltskin was looking for. She glared at the candle, as though it belonged to Frankenstein, and she recalled the memory and how she wanted to pour her chemicals down his throat, or slip poison into his food. However, the candle didn't seem be lighting itself. She added the frustration onto that anger and growled
"Come on..." She closed her eyes for a brief moment and focused on the emotions, as though it may help.

"Stop thinking about the candle, focus on your anger instead." Rumpelstiltskin instructed from behind her, pacing back and forth slightly, watching...feeling her struggle to light the candle.

Heather sighed through her nose and took his instruction seriously. She focused on her anger, with her eyes still closed. Without even realizing it, the candle suddenly lit.

"Look." Rumpelstiltskin whispered, having bent over her shoulder to speak softly in her ear. Heather opened her eyes and saw that the candle was lit.
"And that, dearie, is how magic is made." Rumpelstiltskin said straightening himself up behind her to take his place instead at her side, letting her on to the slight amount of pride in his voice. But that was just how magic was made...how did he control it?

"How do you use your anger to cast different spells?"

Rumpelstiltskin let out a light chuckle at her question, though it was only half-hearted...masked by some other emotion that had yet to make itself known in him.
"Just like anything else, magic requires practice. You will learn over-time to control your anger and channel it into something you can control, just like any emotion. Magic will become a part of you, second-nature if you allow it to reside within you. However you must never under-estimate it's power, as it always comes with a price." He vaguely gestured towards his own appearance.

Heather listened carefully to what Rumpelstiltskin had to say, mentally taking notes. She noticed how he gestured to himself when he mentioned that magic came with a price and muttered,
"Right...of course," She could tell already what her price is for using magic. It was giving Evelyn Hyde more strength, until she could take over her body for good.

Rumpelstiltskin studied Heather's face for a moment, seeming to be lost in thought in the still silence. He quickly shook his head though, pulling himself out of his own thoughts and conjured up a small book out of thin air and handed it to her.
"But what good is an apprentice without her own spellbook?" He asked with a giddy grin.
"When you aren't cooking my meals, cleaning my castle and doing whatever else that I ask, you will be studying this book. Only then when you have mastered all it's contents, with my instruction of course, will you truly be free of your other self. Just as you wanted."

Heather snapped out of her own thoughts when he presented the book, and she took the book in her hands. She answered politely, "Thank you," Rumpelstiltskin bowed politely in return.
She wanted to look through the book and see what spells were in there, but she knew that she may have to save that for later, the lesson probably wasn't over yet. She could hear Hyde in her mind, protest and tell her that she will never leave and that the body will be hers soon enough.

Rumpelstiltskin waved his hand over the candle and the light was immediately diminished. His eyes then trailed back over to Heather and he nodded once more.
"Again."

Heather didn't complain. She focused on her anger again, and lit the candle with her eyes closed. This time, she opened her eyes after she had successfully lit the candle, slightly being able to feel that she had lit it once more. Taking a seat on the dusty table next to the candle, Rumpelstiltskin smiled his praises to Heather.

"You should be proud dearie. You've shown more progress in less amount of time than the Evil Queen herself." He grinned. "Though...her motives for using magic were slightly...different..." He then added, speaking more to himself than to Heather.

Heather looked to Rumpelstiltskin, but didn't let pride get to her head. She knew what pride could do to an intellect. She grew curious, however, when he mentioned the Evil Queen and mumbled about motives. She asked,
"The Evil Queen? As in the one from the tale of Snow White?" She wasn't sure, considering there were many evil queens and women in fairy tales. She had heard of the story, but she knew that there was always more to the story than what's on the surface. Rumpelstiltskin raised his hand to his head and then his hand out indicating that his memory had failed him for a moment.

"Oh yes, I'd forgotten your current knowledge of The Enchanted Forest; other than what that Cat has been able to tell you I suppose..." He pushed himself off the table and made his way to the only window in the room that wasn't covered by a dusty old curtain and looked out over the horizon. The sun had set long ago, and yet there still remained a still, orange glow just before the mountains took over the gentle plains...and where a forest once was.
"But there will be plenty of time for that later." He added on, though kept his back to her as he watched where he knew the forest was burning.

Heather looked out of the window from where she stood and she saw the orange glow in the darkness. What was happening out there? She couldn't ask, because he told her that she would learn about this world later (much to her slight irritation).

"We will be having a guest in the morning. I shall expect nothing less than a welcoming breakfast for when she arrives. You are to find me in my room when she arrives after you have issued her in. You aren't to speak anything more to her than what is a custom greeting, you needn't to go around telling everyone you're not from here..."

Heather noticed that he used the word 'she' in his speech, so it was safe to assume that the visitor would be female. She asked out of curiosity,
"Who are you expecting?"

The answer didn't come right away, as Rumpelstiltskin thought his words over carefully, deciding on just how much he wanted to have revealed.
"Just an old friend." He said after a short while, though finally turning to face Heather once more.
"I trust you took it upon yourself to look around The Dark Castle in my absence?" He then asked, changing the direction of conversation, though his voice held no anger as one would have expected. She noticed how he suddenly changed the conversation's direction, guessing from that, that the visitor coming tomorrow could be the same woman that Alexandre had mentioned briefly before his heart had been ripped out. She didn't comment though, and she nodded a simple yes. She easily recalled all of the guest rooms she had seen and picked the one she'd rather stay in.
"You may have any room you like dearie, aside from my own and the library of course."

Heather nodded and said politely, "Alright. Once again, thank you," and Rumpelstiltskin replied only by a polite, theatrical bow. It was certainly better than having him throw her in the dungeons she had seen earlier in her exploration. She remembered where she found his room and library and made note to avoid those areas.

"You've got an early morning ahead of you dearie, the castle is a bit dusty." Rumpelstiltskin went on, implying that Heather would be cleaning the entirety of The Dark Castle once she woke up. He walked to Heather casually, putting his hand on the small of her back and led her out of the room, gently walking her to the staircase that would take them upstairs where the choice bedrooms were located. He walked with her up the stairs, stopping only when they reached two solid oak doors of fine craftsmanship that no doubt lead to the master bedroom of the entire castle. Again, he bowed deeply to her, a silent goodnight, before magically opening the doors where he then walked through, shutting the doors tightly behind him and once again leaving Heather on her own.

Heather could already feeling the almost invisible bags under her eyes get heavier at his first comment. She ignored it though as she walked with Rumpelstiltskin until he reached his room. After that, she headed for the guest room she had picked out.
She reached the room, not completely intent on sleeping (in fear of Hyde taking over and doing something stupid). She opted for flipping through the spell book and reading up on the spells she had to learn.

The Cat, no, Alexandre found himself materializing inside a castle, past the portcullis and courtyard. The cool tile floor was first to meet him as he fully appeared face-down on the floor. Groaning in a mixture of pain and fatigue, he managed to lift himself on his hands and knees, blinking several times to let his eyes adjust to the new environment.

Realization hit him like he was being run down by a horse. "No..." He hoarsely whispered out, quickly scuttling to his feet.

Everything was different, and yet the same. The floors looked the same, the bricks smelled the same, and the overall environment felt the same. But there was an underlying sense of dread in the air. Something was amiss.

"Where - where is Charming?" He asked aloud to himself, his voice echoing off the walls; "Charming...charming....charming...arming...ming..." It was as if his own echo was mocking him by repeating the name of the man whole stole her heart from him.

Alexandre could still hear her soft giggle, filled with nothing but kindness and happiness. How she would sneak away to see him in one of the abandoned towers and speak to him, some days for only a few moments, and others, a few hours.

"Snow." He said hushedly, as if the name itself held some sort of power, control.

Before he could continue his thought, he heard the shuffle of plate boots on the floor, and realized guards were coming for him - and fast.

"It's alright, Cat, just disappear!" He thought to himself as if it was nothing. He closed his eyes and exhaled, waiting for the confused mumblings of the guards as the source of the disturbance had disappeared. However, this wasn't the case.

"There he is, grab him!" One voice commanded. Alexandre's eyes opened abruptly and before he had time to react, he was being restrained by two guards while a third held him at swordpoint.

"An intruder - how did he get in here?!" The guard with the sword, presumably the commander, barked. "I want those door guards emptying chamberpots!" He said sharply.

Turning back towards Alexandre, an evil smile flashed across his chapped, gray lips. "Take him to the dungeon. The Queen will deal with him when she returns." He ordered with a wave of his hand.

Without another word, the two guards dragged him across the floor, down the spiral staircase to the dungeons.

"Get your hands off me, you ineffectual twits! I'm a personal friend of Snow White's!" He called haughtily, not enjoying the rough treatment he was receiving.

All he received in return from the guards was a cruel laugh and a few japes, "Oh, excuse me then, Ser. We'll be sure to put you in the *royal* cell." One said before tossing him into a damp, dank, barred room.

Alexandre landed hard on the cold stone floor, dirtying his coat and trousers in the process. The resounding clang of the door slamming shut echoed off the walls, as if reminding Alexandre of his incarceration.

There was no guard posted at the dungeon. It was rumored the cells were magically sealed so as to prevent escape in any form.

Alexandre pulled his coat off and laid it down by his feet before sitting down in the center of the cell. The cell was sparsely furnished, with a lice-infested pile of hay serving as a 'bed', a splintered wooden chair, and a stained chamberpot that apparently hadn't been washed out in months, years even.

Alexandre tapped a single finger on the stone floor, pondering. Why hadn't his magic worked? Were this under normal circumstances, he could have disappeared instantaneously without even a second thought.

It all worked easily - when he was a cat. Could Rumpelstiltskin have tricked him again? Alexandre sneered. "Can he not just make a proper deal?" He seethed aloud to himself, standing up to pace about the cell. Even as a cat he couldn't stay still for long.

If there was any good time to think, this was the best time. The only sounds to accompany him were the scuttling of mice and the random drip of water on the ground. An eerie silence, empty.

A small smile twitched at the edge of Alexandre's lips as he began to remember fond things. From a time before; losing himself in memory.

---

A few years ago...

The Cat sauntered about his new 'home' approvingly, deeming it good enough to live. Though, anything would be better than Wonderland. The Queen had been endlessly pursuing him, no doubt wanting his head removed from his shoulders. He felt, hopefully, that the people here would be friendlier, but he didn't wish to take any chances and was sure to remain invisible when skulking about the main body of the castle. But this wing was abandoned and no one ever came in there, leaving him confident enough to stay corporeal.

He hopped up on the large, dusty, yet comfortable double bed, curling into a ball in hopes catching a nap before exploring some more.

Sleep came to him in restless fits, until the Cat decided he wouldn't get reprieve tonight.

He lifted his head slowly, his tail swishing from side to side. His large eyes seemed to lower to the key that hung from his neck. The feeling of the cool metal against his warm fur only seemed to remind him of what he had lost.

He pawed at it, as if hoping that his touch would bring her back to him. But he was just a Cat - a cat without friends and without hope.

He laid his head down on the bed once more, trying to will himself to sleep.

The oak door suddenly creaked open and a woman hurridly entered the room, immediately starting to go through the drawers in her haste to find something. Her long, raven black hair reached halfway down her back, a stunningly beautiful contrast of her snow white skin and ruby red lips. She wore a dress of royalty, a black leather corset restraining her chest and back only for the powder blue dress to fluff out where the corset stopped and her natural, tiny figure began.

The Cat was quickly taken off guard as the door swiftly opened with a woman pouring through the threshold, obviously in a hurry. Knowing it was too late to become invisible, he simply tried to curl up even tighter in hopes she wouldn't notice him on the bed, though he kept a single eye open to watch, just in case.

She paid no mind to the cat, seemingly lost in her own thoughts of her reasoning behind visiting the abandoned wing until her delicate fingers finally happened upon a small childs tiara, beautifully crafted in the finest diamonds and silver that scattered the small amount of light that trickled in through the stained glass windows.

She paused, letting out a breathy laugh as her nimble fingers traced a few of the diamonds, content and relieved now in finding that of which had been lost to her. Only then did her doe-like eyes happen upon the curled up cat on the bed. She smiled sweetly at the feline and brought herself over to sit on the edge of the bed, letting her hand scratch the cat behind the ears, her other hand holding fast to the tiara in her lap.

Just when he thought she would leave the room, her eyes landed on him. Large, kind, caring eyes. Most any other person would most likely have shooed him out. She sat down next to him and began scratching him behind the ear, causing his head to lift up and get a better look at her. Against his better instincts, he began to purr at the touch; a strange feeling, having only been a cat for a few days now.

"And I don't suppose you had something to do with this did you?" Snow White asked the cat jokingly, not at all expecting a response back.

In response to her question, he tilted his head and began to speak, "No, not that I recall. I prefer to simply *watch*. Stealing isn't in my nature." He finished calmly, his smile seeming to curl eerily.

Snow White quickly retreated her hand the moment she heard a voice coming out of the cat.

"Oh! Oh I'm so sorry I thought-you can talk!" She returned her hand to her lap and stood up from the bed, turning to face the talking animal, just now realizing the grin the cat wore somewhat unnaturally on his face.
"Did...did Regina do this to you?" Snow then asked, not so much surprised that there was a talking cat in her castle anymore, but already gathering that magic was involved and was already trying to get down to the bottom of it's origin.

"No harm done." He replied neutrally, standing on all-fours and stretching. "Yes, yes, I can talk. Most convenient, considering my *current* plight."

Upon mention of Regina, the Cat shook his head 'no'. "Ah, your step-mother. No, she wasn't involved. I doubt she knows I exist. This was done by another - the Queen of Heartssss." He hissed, holding on to the last 's' of the word 'hearts'. There was no need to frighten the girl by mentioning The Dark One, especially since she seemed to respond well to his being there.

Relief washed away Snow's worried expression and she moved to sit back down on the edge of the bed again, though giving the cat his respectable distance.
"The Queen of Hearts?" She asked outloud. "Then...then you must be from Wonderland!" She quickly observed and tilted her head to the side with interest. "What...why are you here?"

The Cat sauntered over, closer to her before sitting back on his haunches, his tail swishing about. "The Queen, God bless her, doesn't much like it when people don't fear her." He leaned in slowly, "I didn't fear her." He said coldly before straightening his posture once again.

"She wanted me executed. I looked...much more comely then. But I escaped. Right at the headsman's block, high marks for timing. Anyways, I turned into a cat and ran away. Exiled from *all* of Wonderland." He explained in a tone that wasn't unkind.

Snow raised a tentative hand before running it over the cat's back in a simple stroke.
"You are very brave." She commended him, seeming to take the news unnaturally well. She returned her hand to her lap and let her gaze wander from the cat to the tiara she held in her lap.

The Cat shook his head once again. "No...no, I'm not brave. Bravery and I are not on intimate terms, you see...but thank you." He finished simply.

Snow turned to look back at the cat and broke into a sweet smile.
"You might not think so, but your heart is true...I can tell...and you sir, are indeed brave." She nodded once, affirmitively, indicating that it wasn't to be argued over any longer.
"So...you *turned* into a cat? You mean...you weren't cursed into becoming one?" She asked, letting herself change the subject.

"To be completely honest, much of it was a blur. I remember the feel of cold steel at my neck, learning its mark whilst preparing for the strike. Then, there was a flash, and next thing I knew, I was running away with twice as many legs as before. And this....grin.." He added, disgusted.

Snow couldn't help but to laugh softly, not at his own expense, but because she was imagining the obscurity of the events that he had described.
"Well...if it's any consolation, I rather like the grin. I think more cats should smile the way you do." She kept her smile and then once again moved to stand, though still facing the cat.
"My step-mother may be Queen of this castle, but I am still a Princess. You are welcome to stay here as long as you like, as long as you stay out of Regina's way. She doesn't take too kindly to guests..."

If the Cat could blush, he most likely would have; if not at her compliment, then at her laugh. It was a sweet sound, like the soft singing of a beautiful bird.

"Your kindness is noted, Your Highness. If there's anything I'm good at, it's staying out of the way." He reassured her. He was surprised by himself. How open he was, how...*friendly*. Were it anyone else talking to him, he would have been cold, wicked even. But this girl was different; and in that moment, he wished he was human more than ever.

Snow offered a small courtsey to the cat upon the bed, still holding her radient smile.
"Please...I'm Snow. Snow White."

"A pleasure. My name is-" the Cat stopped himself, finally realizing that he didn't even remember his own name. Is that all it took? A few days of traveling was all it took to forget one's own name? Or was it his current choice of body? Whatever the case, he didn't know what to call himself.

"Call me, the Cat. No...the *Cheshire* Cat." He finally decided, his voice gaining more confidence as he finally made his choice.

"A pleasure Cheshire Cat." Snow said, using the name given to out of nothing but respect, not even hesitating to question why he hadn't given his real name. She just accepted it, trusting him with his secrets.

He looked her in the eyes before speaking next. "Snow White. That's a lovely name. Quite beautiful." He complimented, still purring quietly in he background.

"My mother named me." Snow then said, a bit softer than her already soft voice usually spoke. The chimes of the castle clock quickly brought Snow to attention, and after counting the strikes she sighed. "I have to go, but I'll be back tonight and I'll see what kind of supper I can bring up here to you." Snow hurried over to the door that she had entered in and looked back to the cat. "It really was nice meeting you...Cheshire..." She smiled at him once more before slipping out of the room, closing the door gently behind her.

"And you...Snow." The Cat responded, sighing quietly when she left. Acting as though nothing happened, he returned to the center of the bed, curling in a ball to sleep; finding it come much easier to him now......

---

As Alexandre saw the memory come and go, he was either unaware of or unwilling to take notice of the fresh tears that had begun to stream down his cheeks. That first meeting was one of many between him and Snow. Everyday she would come to him, sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes for a few hours, in this very castle. Sneaking food to him when she could and both of them always having a story to share. 'She was my best friend...' Alexandre thought to himself, too tired to talk.

'My only friend.' He added bitterly. 'And now she's gone forever...'

Crawling to the center of the cell, he curled himself up into a ball, clutching at his key as he willed himself to sleep......

The moment the doors to his bedroom closed, Rumpelstiltskin knew that Heather had been inside. If it weren't for the distinct feeling he got, the slight...disturbance in the air he felt, then it would have still been obvious by the way he spotted something out of it's place. Walking briskly over to his nightstand, Rumpelstiltskin picked up the hastily folded-up piece of cloth and brought it to his chest. With a heavy sigh, he sat down on the edge of his bed, turning the tattered fabric this way and that until he found the red, crude stitched letters spelling out the name 'Baelfire.' He brought the poorly-made baby blanket up to his nose and inhaled the sweet scent, a preservation spell still holding fast to the fabric after all these years and bringing Rumpelstiltskin immediately to his past.

---

Many, many years ago...

Rumpelstiltskin hurried home quickly, a rolled up piece of parchment held fastly in his left hand. On his face he wore the happiest of grins, practically begging to let loose the good news he had been holding over the last few hours. It was a time before 'The Dark One' and Rumpelstiltskin wore nothing but simple rags. In fact, Rumpelstiltskin couldn't have looked more 'common' then he did back then. The same could also be said for his house as it was a simple, small, circular hut, but he had never felt more proud walking through that door then he did that day.

"Milah!" Rumpelstiltskin called out, throwing open the front door to find his wife, Milah, busy sewing at the table. "Milah!" He said again, exasperated but sighing in relief to find her there as he would any other day. The raven-haired woman looked up from her work and beamed at her husband.

"I'm nearly finished!" She boasted, of course talking about her work.

"Aha, you learn quickly!" Rumpelstiltskin commended her jovially, walking briskly to her side at the table.

"Well I have a good teacher." Milah replied, setting down the fabric that would make a fair pair of pants in order to receive a kiss from her husband. After kissing his wife, Rumpelstiltskin took a couple steps back to look at Milah, his body practically shaking in excitement.

"What is it?" Milah asked, somewhat concerned about the look her husband wore on his face. "What brings you home so early?"

"Milah..." Rumpelstiltskin began, unable to hold in a breathy laugh. "...my weaving days are behind us. I've been called to the front!" He said enthusiastically and began to unroll the scroll he had in his hand, showing the summons to his wife. Written across the scroll in big letters was his name, and below that 'You Have Been Drafted Into The King's Army'.

Rumpelstiltskin set the scroll down on the table for his wife to look over, however her face did not hold the same amount of excitement that his had. She read the summons over and over again, her hand slightly trembling trying to keep the parchment flat.

"The Ogre's war..." She said after a few silent moments. Rumpelstiltskin clapped his hands together and took a few jig-like steps in his excitement.

"I report for training in the morning!" He sing-songed.

"No! Rumpel...I've heard stories!" Milah protested, bringing Rumpelstiltskin out of his boyish grin. "The front...it's a brutal place!"

"Ahh yeah, I know, I know. I-I can't say that I-I won't be frightened..." Rumpelstiltskin took a seat at the small table by his wife and gently took her hand in his. "But this is the chance I've been waiting for...all my life! You know, I've lived under the shadow of my father's actions for too long now..."

"Just because your father was a coward, it doesn't mean you are!" Milah protested immediately.

"Ah I know that, as do you! But to the world; fighting in this war finally gives me the chance to prove that to everyone else." Rumpelstiltskin responded quickly and gave his wife's hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

"Go." Milah then said, unable to hold back a smile as she looked her husband in his gorgeous, deep brown eyes. "Be brave. Fight...honorably..."

Rumpelstiltskin breathed out a heavy sigh of relief.
"Oh God I love you-

"-I love you too!" Milah finished, both now beaming at the other, basking in the glow that their love had created during the moment. Milah rested her hand on his chest, her eyes searching his as if trying to read his thoughts, though she already had a good idea of what was on his mind.
"When you return, we can start living a life we've always dreamed of. We can have a-"

"-a family!" Rumpelstiltskin jumped in, finishing her sentence with her. The two shared a breathy laugh and met their lips once more over the table. If Rumpelstiltskin was to leave in the morning, then Milah planned on making the most of the time she had with him, unknowing if he would even be able to return to her after the war.

---

Rumpelstiltskin pulled himself from his thoughts before they got away with his mind. He stood up from his bed and neatly folded the blanket, returning it to it's natural place on the nightstand. For a moment, he looked at the blanket with a soft expression until recent events caught up with his mind and his cold eyes narrowed. Heather had been in his room, and he intended to never let that happen again. Rolling up the cuffs on his crimson red poet shirt, Rumpelstiltskin hurriedly walked from his room to find his nosy apprentice, using a simple magic spell that made her footprints glow so as he could follow them to the bedroom she chose for the night. He didn't even bother knocking when he came to the door and instead flicked his wrist, forcing the door to open magically and a bit forcefully. His cold eyes happened upon her almost immediately, finding her nose in the spell book he had given her earlier as she had made herself comfortable on her bed.

"You!" The Imp seethed through his blackening teeth, pointing a twisted finger at her. "You...you were in my room dearie!" He chided angrily.

Heather was startled when he suddenly came in, and she snapped out of her concentration when he chided her angrily. She politely answered him, remaining as calm as she could, "I'm terribly sorry. I didn't know I entered your room. I'll make sure to avoid entering your room from here on out,"

Rumpelstiltskin's finger twitched, as if begging to do some amount of magic to the girl that would most certainly show her a lesson in sticking her nose in places it didn't belong, however the deal that he had made with her counterpart stopped him from doing so, and so he jabbed his finger at her angrily, accentuating him pointing at her.

"Don't let it happen again." He threatened after finally coming up with the words to speak to her with and turned to leave from her threshold.

Heather could feel Evelyn smirk in her mind and hear her laughter in regards to the deal she made with Rumpelstiltskin. Heather nodded at his threat to show she took it seriously. When he turned though, she asked politely "If you don't mind me asking...who is Baelfire?"

She figured she might as well ask since he knew that she went into his room earlier. It was impossible to not notice the baby blanket that was out of place in the grandiose yet gloomy castle.

The Dark One froze in his step, his hand still on the threshold of her room, gripping the wood tightly until his knuckles became pale. After a few silent moments, Rumpelstiltskin took the few steps backwards back into her room and propped himself up against the doorway, folding his arms across his chest. He was surprised to learn that, being the second time he had been asked this same question, it seemed to be just that much easier to talk about. It seemed that even though Belle was gone, a part of her still remained, nestled somewhere deep into his dark heart.

"A child." He said simply, for the moment deciding that was all that he wished to reveal to her, however his tongue kept moving. "My child." His eyes fell from Heather to the floor beneath him as if he were ashamed of something.

She noticed how he stopped, and she silently swallowed a lump in her throat as he came back and propped himself against the doorway. Instead of casting a spell on her, he simply answered. She could hear pain in his voice as he answered, indicating that he experienced loss when it came to this child. She answered him, "I see..."

She could hear Hyde demand mentally to ask for more information, but Jekyll ignored Hyde. Eventually, Hyde said to her in her mind, "Well, if you won't ask, then I will!"
Before Jekyll even knew, her voice acted up according to Evelyn's will and she asked, sounding as though Jekyll was still in control and convincingly so, "Did...something happen to Baelfire?" Jekyll's appearance remained the same as Hyde forced the question out into the open.

Rumpelstiltskin looked completely unphased by the question; if anything, he had been expecting it. He kept his eyes on the floor, however, finding it easier to pretend that he was talking out-loud rather than to someone else.

"I lost her...a long time ago...along with her mother..."

Jekyll swallowed another lump at the answer. Hyde asked Rumpelstiltskin, still pretending that Jekyll was asking "Lost her...How did you lose them?" Jekyll felt terrible. She was probably forcing the imp in front of her to relive the memories as Hyde asked the questions.

His face and eyes darkened a bit as he recalled the exact events that answered Heather's question, however he held his tongue this time though he finally looked up from the floor to meet the woman's eyes.

"They're gone, not much more to tell dearie." He answered with a casual shrug. He took in a quick breath and pulled himself from his position in the doorway. "Now...if you're done skinning the monster for information, I bid you goodnight."

After he answered with a casual shrug, she could tell that he was done answering questions, and she said "I see. My condolences,"

When he made his comment, she replied as she turned away from him, her back facing him, "Oh don't worry. This monster is done asking questions. Good night, Rumpelstiltskin,"

The Imp's mouth fell open to immediately correct himself, as she had obviously taken his words the wrong way. He hadn't intended to call her a monster, she was nothing of the sort! He had grown so used to calling himself the monster...the...beast, and being called as such, that he hadn't stopped to think that others might refer to themselves in the same manner...a truth that he wasn't sure he would be able to stomach. He promptly shut his mouth to keep from looking like a fool, though he did manage a few stuttering sounds before he had in obvious protest of her reply. Recovering from that, however, he just let out a soft sigh and without a word, turned to leave the threshold once again, returning to his room for the remainder of the evening.

Heather could hear his stutters before he left. She ignored Hyde's cackling that echoed in her mind, as she sat down at her bed and hid her face in her pillow. She couldn't help but remember every single evil deed Hyde had committed the moment Heather called Hyde and herself a monster.

Every single injury Hyde gave to others...

Every single murder Hyde had committed over the past five years...

They all came back to her like a racing horse drawn carriage. She told herself again and again that she was away from the people she cared about and they would be safe from her. But it only made her miss them even more. But even then...even then it seemed that no matter where she went, people would get hurt. Even here, in this entirely new world, Alexandre stood somewhere awaiting execution...and it was all because of her. He wouldn't have insisted staying at The Dark Castle if she hadn't been there...hell, he wouldn't have been there in the first place if he wasn't tasked with bringing her to Rumpelstiltskin. That just went to prove that Dr. Jekyll didn't need to be Evelyn Hyde to harm anyone, and perhaps she was becoming more of the monster than she had initially realized...

With those thoughts, she could feel tears come from her eyes and land on the pillow she used to hide her face.

---

Hours into the night, Heather was still up, trying to read the contents of the spell book despite the heavy eyelids that threatened to close. She knew very well that Hyde had promised not to take over when she got angry earlier, but that didn't mean she would hold that same promise for when Heather would fall asleep.

Heather could feel a headache as the words started to blur. It was clear that her weariness was getting to her. Her head bobbed as she tried to stay awake, and eventually, she found herself in a different landscape. One created by her mind, never noticing as this was happening, all of the lights in the castle were flickering on and off.

---

"Heather...Heather, you really should get some rest,"

Heather, who found herself sitting in a chair, looked up from staring at the ground to see her friend John Utterson, wearing his nice and prim suit, standing in front of her. She whispered confusedly, "John...? What...?"

John chuckled, "Have you been up working again? And you called me a workaholic," He then stood behind her and he whispered into her ear, "Sleep, Heather. Don't worry about anything,"

Heather shook her head and she answered "I can't...I can't, then she'll take over,"

John hushed "You'll be ok, nobody's going to take over. Sleep, Heather. Sleep and let me dream for you. Leave everything to me!"

Heather widened her eyes at the last statement in realization and she said "You're her! Get away from me, you're her!" John backed away and walked to stand in front of her, as he spoke in Evelyn's voice, "Well, OF COURSE it's me, Sister! Who else lives inside of your head?" He then nodded to herself in John's body and she asked "But don't I scrub up nice?"

She continued, gradually changing her voice back to John's "Just let go...Let me dream for you. Rest, Heather..."

Heather shouted "Stop it!" Evelyn recoiled from the shout and replied in her voice "My, my! That was uncalled for, sister!"

Heather growled at Evelyn, "Don't you speak in his voice! Don't you dare speak in ANY of their VOICES!"

Evelyn sneered "What's so special about them? Annoying lawyer, old fart butler, and irritating scientist!"

She then mocked John in his own voice, "Don't listen to Victor, he's just an arse! Oh Heather, you're brilliant! Oh Heather, you're amazing!"

She then asked in her own voice "Don't you get sick of that shit?" She then chuckled and said "He met me, you know. Looked riiiight at me, and he didn't see you. Sherlock Holmes with only an eighth of a brain,"

Heather covered her ears and she begged "Stop it! Stop!" Evelyn sneered "Why?! What's the big deal sister?! I'm serious! What. Is. The. Big. Deal with the people you are so willing to abandon, just to protect them?"

Before Heather could even answer, Evelyn looked up from Heather and she smirked saying coyly, still in John's body with his voice this time, "Oh wait, someone's here to see you,"
It was at this time that Alexandre seemed to slink out from the shadows. At least...it looked like Alexandre. His hair was dirty and greasy, splayed about in an unkempt manner. His bright blue eyes, usually full of life, were dull and dead, with heavy bags underneath them.

His clothes, too, were tattered and worn, rife with patches and tears in the fabric. "Why'd you do it, Heather?" He asked her despairingly, yet his face showed no change in expression.
"I trusted you. Thought you were a friend...but now-" he lifted his arms up, clutching both sides of his head. With a single tug, it separated itself from the rest of his body. No blood, no noise, nothing but silence. "Now we're *all* mad here." He finished cryptically.

Heather widened her eyes at the sight of Alexandre appearing in front of her, and in a ghastly state. She whispered "Alexandre...? But...what...?" Soon he started speaking, and every word felt like a piercing knife stabbed her heart. She widened her eyes and tears started to flow down her face when he tore his own head off of his own neck.

She lowered her head and she whimpered "Stop it! Alexandre, I'm so sorry...!" She cried, before she looked back up towards Evelyn with a glare, who was smirking with amusement, and she spoke angrily "You wanted to know what the big deal is? You're in my own head! Why don't you see for yourself?!"

Evelyn blinked at the answer and before Heather knew it, Evelyn was down on her knees, and Heather could see tears pour down Evelyn's face. Evelyn asked with a snarl "Wh-What?! What is this, Jekyll?!"

Heather answered coldly "Something that you're not ready for, and will never be ready for, you monstrous child! I will not let what happened to Alexandre happen to anyone else I meet! Even if it means being alone for the rest of my life, I won't allow anyone to get hurt! EVER AGAIN!" After that the scenery and Evelyn and Alexandre, both faded into darkness, and Jekyll lost consciousness.

---

In the real world, Jekyll had fallen asleep on the bed, with the book nearby. The lights had stopped flickering and remained on, as though to show that Jekyll had won for now. Hyde didn't seem to make any attempt to take over the body and wreak havoc this night.

Collab between Optimist and Silver Carrot

Thomas grabbed onto the collar of Goldilock''s blouse, to keep from falling, and kept his eyes out for the red headed woman and his friends. He was not sure how he had been able to travel from the morning at the Fairy Queen's castle, to the evening at this town. He assumed that there must be a great deal of distance between them, for that to be possible. "So, if you don't mind me asking, what business brings you here? I am here as a part of a quest of sorts, to fight evil in the land. I know it is a bit of a vague goal, but we mean it seriously enough."

"That's a noble ideal," the woman remarked, red lips curling into a half smile again. "Alas, my motivation is simple coin. I'm looking for a red haired woman. The person I work for wants to find her. It's as simple as that...more or less..."

Thomas understood her motivations perfectly. He was in this quest first for the travel, and then because of his loyalty to his friend Charming. He was not, by nature, a crusader. "Ah, that is as good a motivation as any. I myself have had simliar motives for most of my life, since I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth, Miss Gloria."

The woman's smile grew until it looked genuine. "That makes two of us. I didn't exactly have a poor childhood in a poor family, but I have had to work for everything I own today."

Thomas's view of her smile, was like a vast field of white teeth. Everything was big to him, when he was in his natural state. He felt relaxed with Gloria. She seemed a sensible enough lass, unlike some at court he had met. Without meaning to, he started to feel a bit sleepy. "Well, I do understand that, though I was actually born to very poor parents. As it is, my life is has been easy the past few years, as the court dwarf for the Fairy Queen." He realized he was sharing a bit to much about himself with a stranger, but what was said was said.

The woman looked down at Thomas, fully deviating her eyes from the road in front of her for the first time since he changed. "You're the court dwarf for the Fairy Queen?!" She looked around, before lowering her voice. Luckily she didn't draw too much attention to them. She turned back to Thomas, talking in a hushed whisper "I had no idea was in the company of someone with ties to royalty! Are you a Lord or something?"

Thomas laughed, "Hardly, more of a curiosity and a jester, all rolled into one. She dresses me up for her own entertainment and parades me in front of the important folk she invites to her table." He did not think it wise to mention that she was also his god-mother. That would really be putting on airs. "So, I take it that you are not a princess in disguise then? I have met enough of them."

The woman's smile was almost pulled into a grimace. "I can't stand being the centre of attention. I would hate that. You're a lot braver than me in that regard." She mused. Secretly, she was a little bit put off by the treatment of this nice man as some mere amusement. It was almost worse that he didn't mind it. She tried to take her mind off it by answering his next question. "No, I'm not a Princess in disguise. Nothing could be further from the truth," she responded, with an enigmatic air to her sentence.

Thomas thought he sounded odd, as she spoke that last, but did not pry. As it was, he was was enjoying being in her company and being out of the eyes of the court. In fact, he was feeling a bit sleepy. He curled up against her neck and started to drift off without meaning too. "Well, that's good. Princesses are generally annoying, as a rule." Soon he was snoring, in a soft little sound.

"Based on my experiences, I'm inclined to agree with you," she said, before hearing him snore. This brought a smile to her face. She didn't want him to fall off her shoulder, so she moved him up to the brim of her hat. That's when she saw the horses blocking the exits, and her 'boss' with them. She heard what he shouted. She was safe, she wouldn't be killed unless she did something stupid. The others wouldn't. Thomas wouldn't. She had to escape. It was a strange position she was in now, with plans to betray the orders of this powerful Goat, just so she could serve the other order from this powerful Goat. Then again, following one of those orders results in her getting paid, and following the other might result in her companion getting an awful lot smaller, under a cloven hoof. She'd take her chances.

She started walking to the docks. That goat had all the roads covered. The only other way out was by sea, and Goldilocks had her purse to hand.

Thomas was blisstfully unaware of the peril he was in. He was of dreaming a fat little wife, in a little cottage, and tiny children. As it was, it was a dream that was unlikely to come true, seeing as he did not even know of the existance of Thumbelina. Still, it was a pleasant enough fiction.

In his dream, he was named mayor of a small town, and grew fat and old, as he watched his children grow up. He and his wife grew gray in hair, and infirm of limb, but were still very much in love. When he woke, the dream would pain him, for it was never to be. Such happiness was not for the likes of him.

When Goldilocks got to the docks, she saw several goats stopping the ships. A single bead of sweat rooled down her face as she tried to remain calm and collected. She swiftly changed direction, and burst straight into a nearby inn, where she caught her breath for a few soconds before straightening her hat, dusting off her dress and approaching the innkeeper.

"I'd like a room, please."

"Ma'am, I'm afraid that with the goats..."

A fat purse full of coins landed in the table with a meaty jingle. Goldilocks smiled. The inkeeper thought for a few seconds, then handed her a key.

"Room 26. Please don't attract any attention."

message redacted

Collab between Reem, Dragonbeastmode
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When Hawkins couldn't find Thomas or Charming he began to worry. That's when he noticed the goats arrival. They seemed to form a blockade around the docks. "Hey! Who invited Billy the Kid and his pals?" Flint squawked. Jim wondered why they were surrounding the docks. They were after something or someone, but Hawkins knew better than to brush it off. It was a trap, he figured, and the goats didn't look friendly. Jim had a very bad feeling about this. He looked at Ariel. "I don't think these goats are here for a festival, let's try to avoid them and find Charming." Where the bloody hell was Charming anyways... "Maybe we could give them a book to chew on?" Flint sarcastically suggested.

"Wait a minute! I see Charming over there!" he pointed over at the man who looked like Charming carrying a red headed woman out of the water. The girl seemed to be unconscious. The Prince was saving her life. Beckoning Ariel to follow, Jim ran towards the two. His military training in battlefield medicine kicked in and he began to revert back to his days in service to the Royal Navy. Jim was no doctor but had captained some of the finest medical officers in the Navy. He picked up a few things, especially the life saving skills. He could keep someone alive if he had to but any further treatment she would be out of luck.

Charming had almost found the last place where he saw Hawkins, The red-headed woman had gotten even heavier than before. "Hold on miss where almost there." Charming said. She was still passed out, but she was still breathing so that was a good sign. Charming laid the red-headed girl down in the sand to take a break. "Now you just rest here while I find my friends." Charming looked around to see if hey could find Hawkins or Thomas.

By the time Jim got to Charming, he knelt down in the spot where she laid... He swept her body for hemorrhaging, no signs of bleeding. She was still breathing, and her pulse was good. No signs of shock. Her body was wet and cold, that was not a good thing.

"Quickly, Charming, get me a blanket or something. We need to get her out of these wet clothes and keep her warm and dry," he said without delay while removing the girl's wet shoes and shirt.

Charming was barely paying Hawkins any attention and instead he looked at Ariel, as beautiful and deadly as always. "Hello Ariel, so I guess your going to help us?" Charming asked holding onto his sword in his belt just in case.

"Now, Charming! For God's sake!" he ordered the prince who had just rescued this poor girl only to forget about her. Incompetent fool.

Charming didnt like being told what to do. He was a prince for goodness gracious. "I will go get the blankets from that inn over there." Charming went to walk to the inn, angry at taking orders and not giving them.

When Charming got to the inn, it was really quiet. He saw a old lady working at the booth. She must be the innkeeper. Charming thought. "Hello madam, I need a few blankets for my friend, she is really cold."

The old lady just looked at Charming, he got a wierd feeling about this lady. She went to the back and got him some blankets. He was about to pay her, but her creaky voice said, "You dont need to pay Prince James, your kindness is enough payment." Charming almost ran out of the inn.

He went over to Hawkins and gave him the blankets. "You will never guess what just happened."

Hawkins covered the girl in the blankets the prince had provided. They kept her warm and dry. "What happened?" he looked over at Charming.

"The creepy, old inn-keeper, I think she was hitting on me." Charming started to laugh. "Anyway do you think she will get better overnight? I'm getting a bit tired." Charming started to yawn.

"Yes," Jim replied as he began to pick up the bundled girl. "Let's go to that inn, get some rest, and head out in the morning." Hawkins carried the girl, while following Ariel and Charming to the inn. The prince paid for the arrangements and the four stayed the night in two separate bedrooms dividing the men and women.

Many, many years ago...

It had been eight months since Rumpelstiltskin left home to join the Ogre's War, though six of those months he spent in training, learning for the first time how to wield a weapon as well as many other survival techniques taught in basic training. The last two months that Rumpelstiltskin had spent at the main camp, however, proved to be quite simple if you didn't count the impeding cold of the unrelenting snow fall. Still though, Rumpelstiltskin remained in high spirits as this war would change his fate forever, and no one would believe him to be a coward like his father any longer.
One particular morning, as Rumpelstiltskin was making his rounds in the camp garbed in the king's signature armor of thick black studded armor with accented chain mail around the neck and joints and a thick wool cape to help against the cold, a guard captain stepped out of his tent and called out to him as he passed by.

"Soldier!"

Rumpelstiltskin turned as the guard captain sheathed his sword and looked around him to make sure the guard captain wasn't addressing someone else.

"Me?" He asked when no one else seemed to be in the immediate area. The Guard Captain didn't hesitate as he walked towards Rumpelstiltskin and closed the distance between them.

"I'm needed at the front." He explained and gestured over to a crate beside the tent that was covered in a thick square of canvas. "Guard this crate with your life." The Guard Captain said incredibly seriously.

"Wh-whats under there?" Rumpelstiltskin couldn't help but to ask.

"A prisoner who can help us turn the tide against the Ogres. Careful, it's a tricky beast."

"Yes-sir!" Rumpelstiltskin nodded both to signal that he understood the Guard Captain's warning as well as understanding his assignment. The Guard Captain nodded back to Rumpelstiltskin and headed off to where he was needed, and Rumpelstiltskin crossed over to the covered crate in which he was to guard until someone came to relieve him.

He watched the life in the small camp before him in an effort to pass the time, observing the blacksmiths grinding and molding new weapons and refining armor, and watched the various soldiers, like himself, who were busy with preparatory tasks to ensure the camp's safety. These were the sights and sounds familiar to the man, the sights and sounds he had grown accustomed to over the last eight months and strangely began to feel comfort in, again thinking about how this war would change his life for the better forever. What he wasn't prepared for, however, was a child's voice calling out to him from behind.

"Rumpelstiltskin!" The voice seemed to echo in an eerie manner. Rumpelstiltskin quickly looked around his immediate surroundings, however when he found no one near him, nor anyone reacting to the strange voice, he felt his heart begin to beat just a little bit faster. His eyes settled on the covered up crate and hesitated as he approached it. With a quick movement, he tossed the front flap of the canvas up and over the cage and peered inside, immediately spotting a small child with a wild head of red hair.

"You're a child..." Rumpelstiltskin observed out loud, recalling that the Guard Captain had called this child a prisoner earlier. The child looked up slowly at Rumpelstiltskin and he was forced a couple steps backwards as the child's face was unlike any he had ever seen. The area in which her eyes should have been looked to have been sewn shut with thick, black lace that crossed over her nose to each eye, and then up her forehead at an angle and disappearing beneath her hair-covered scalp. The child simply stuck her hand out of the wooden bars of her cage and pointed to a small bucket of water on the ground, kept cold by the snow beneath it.

"Please, I haven't had a sip in days..." The child pleaded.

"How do you know my name?" Rumpelstiltskin asked, not even bothering with her request.

"I'm a seer." The child said plainly and stuck her other hand out of the bars and opened up her hands, facing her palms outwards towards Rumpelstiltskin. He swallowed hard and took yet another step back as Rumpelstiltskin saw an eye in the center in each of her palms, each strikingly blue and full of lashes and...blinking, as an ordinary eye would do. "I see all." The child went on to explain.

"No no no no no that's-that's not possible. You must have overheard someone speaking." Rumpelstiltskin said, more rationalizing with himself of what he was seeing and how she knew his name.

"Rumpelstiltskin, son of a coward. Raised by spinsters. Scared of ending up just like his father." The child withdrew her hands back into the cage. "Did I overhear THAT? I told you...I see all; even what has yet to pass."

"You mean the future? You can see the future?" Rumpelstiltskin asked, suddenly finding himself growing interested and taking a couple steps towards the prisoner.

"Indeed I can...including YOURS." She acknowledged.

"No no no no no, I-I won't indulge this...DARK magic!" Rumpelstiltskin said, practically spitting the word out like a poison in his mouth and waving off the girl, about ready to cover the cage back up with the canvas.

"Even if what I see concerns your wife, Milah?"

Rumpelstiltskin paused and put the canvas back up on the top of the cage.

"What? Has something happened to her?" He asked, obvious worry in his voice.

"Give me water." The child seer demanded. Rumpelstiltskin hesitated, if what this girl said was true, then something bad may have happened to his wife, and he would never know...but the price of knowing...was it worth it? He swallowed hard again and went to the bucket of water, filling up the cup that was inside with the cool drink and handed it to the seer between the wooden bars of her cage.

"Here, slake your thirst witch, and speak of what you know of my wife!" He demanded, occasionally glancing around him to ensure no one had saw him giving the prisoner water. The seer drank the water eagerly, however when she was finished she extended her palm out towards Rumpelstiltskin once more, letting her eye 'see' into him.

"She is already with child." The seer said almost instantly. Rumpelstiltskin's face began to glow, a wide smile spreading across his healthy looking face and his light brown eyes growing wet with happiness.

"I'm to be a father?" He asked, overcome with joy of the news.

"Your wife will bear you a daughter. But your actions on the battlefield tomorrow will leave her fatherless." The seer went on.

"I'm gonna die? No no no no, y-y-you must tell me how I can stop that happening!" He stammered.

"You can't." The seer replied bluntly. Rumpelstiltskin's face grimaced.

"Then I'm done helping you!" He seethed through his clenched teeth and took the water cup back from the child.

"For now. Someday you'll help me again."

"I bet Milah isn't even pregnant. You just said that so I would give you water. And now you're trying to trick me into deserting!" He hissed, once again convincing himself to keep his mind clear of this...dark magic. He knew that nothing ever good came from dark magic, let alone being able to know your own future, and therefore he dismissed the entire thing.

"You shall see...tomorrow. When you see the army ride cows into battle, you WILL KNOW I speak the truth!" The seer said withdrawing her hand back into the cage.

"Cows?" Rumpelstiltskin tried not to laugh. "And who's going to man the catapults? Milkmaids?" He teased and dropped the cup back into the water bucket. "I've had enough of your fiendish lies!"

"There is no escaping it!" The seer warned him. "You will have a daughter, and your actions WILL leave her fatherless."

Rumpelstiltskin shook his head and dragged down the canvas over the front of the cage to cover the prisoner inside once more.

*

Many hours had passed since Rumpelstiltskin had spoken with the seer, and it was well into the night. Word had traveled around the camp quickly that their unit would be marching into battle within a few short hours which seemed to ease his mind of the seer's words, if just a bit. Cows? She said they would be riding into battle on cows! And yet, they were told they would be marching. He wanted to laugh at his brief moment of believing the seer, at his own stupidity, however something in his gut kept him from doing so. The camp sounds of blacksmiths refining weapons and armor and the dull roar of soldiers talking amongst themselves no longer brought the comfort he used to have, and instead, the sounds were a constant reminder that it was quite possible...he could die.

Having been relieved hours ago from watching over the crate, Rumpelstiltskin walked around the camp, keeping his hand at his hip where his sword was sheathed, feeling it's weight growing heavier and heavier with each step. There was a sudden bustle and a small group of soldiers entered the camp, some limping and bracing themselves against walking sticks, and others being carried on stretchers as they no longer had legs to even walk on anymore.

"Lucky bastards." A voice from behind Rumpelstiltskin sounded. Rumpelstiltskin turned to see a fellow soldier looking on at the wounded as well, a soldier that Rumpelstiltskin had grown to know over the past few months as they had been recruited at the same time.

"Well...I think they'd beg to differ..." Rumpelstiltskin said trying to make light of the situation, but it wasn't helping the growing knot in his stomach.

"They're not dead...but they can't fight, which means...they get sent home; that's the only way out of here alive. When the Ogre's rip you limb from limb...pray that they're quick." The soldier explained. Rumpelstiltskin opened his mouth to speak, to protest, however the Guard Captain emerged from his tent and gathered the attention of all the soldiers in the camp.

"Fortune favors us!" He began jovially. "Fresh supplies have arrived from The Duke! Today we will not be marching into battle; we will be riding!"

"Riding?" Rumpelstiltskin felt his heart jump up into his throat. "Riding what?" He practically demanded the Guard Captain.

"What kind of question is that? A horse of course!" The Guard Captain replied after raising an eyebrow, letting Rumpelstiltskin exhale in relief.

"Now, grab yourself a cow! GET READY!" The Guard Captain commanded the troops.

"I'm s-s-s-sorry-wha-w-what did ya say?" Rumpelstiltskin stammered upon hearing that one dreadful word.

"A cow...the saddles we just got in, made from the finest leather. We call them cows. Grab yours, so at least the ride into doom will be soft one on your backside." The Guard Captain nodded to Rumpelstiltskin and the other soldiers and left them to make preparations, leaving Rumpelstiltskin looking exceptionally pale in the face with his body shaking in terror. The soldier who Rumpelstiltskin was familiar with put an arm on his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" He asked his friend. Rumpelstiltskin nodded his head upon instinct, however his mind was far from easy.

"Yes, yes, you go on-I'll catch up..." He assured his friend. The soldier nodded and left Rumpelstiltskin be. As soon as the soldier was gone, Rumpelstiltskin hurried over to the crate where the seer had been earlier.

"So it's all true..." Rumpelstiltskin said talking through the canvas that covered the cage. "I'm going to have a daughter...and I'm going to die..." He felt his heart rising and pounding harshly against his chest as he waited for the child inside to answer him, however, no reply came. "ANSWER ME!" Rumpelstilskin yelled and tore the canvas off of the cage, revealing it to be completely empty. A sound of shock came from Rumpelstiltskin, his only glimmer of hope...of finding a way to change his future...was gone. He cried out in frustration and beat his fists upon the empty cage in a wild rage until his eyes caught sight of something lying on a nearby blacksmiths anvil. An iron maul.

Rumpelstiltskin stared down the object as if it were a fearsome foe, and felt beads of cold sweat starting to trickle down his neck. He took a few tentative steps towards the maul and grasped it with both of his hands, unable to keep his eyes off of the iron head of the weapon. His hands shook violently as he raised the heavy object until the iron head was straight up in the air. Both terror and grief visibly overcame his face as he looked away from the weapon and with all of his strength, brought the maul down on his right shin. The air was filled with a sickening sound of a bone snapping, as well as the cries and screams coming from the pained Rumpelstiltskin. He fell to the ground in dirt and snow, dropping the maul and clutching his broken leg as he writhed around in the dirt in pain, the dirt sticking to the tears that streamed down his grimaced face as his vocal pain echoed into the cool, winter night's air.

---

Rumpelstiltskin jerked awake in his bed gasping for breath, his greenish skin coated with a thin layer of sweat. As soon as the present caught up with him, he began to relax, however was unable to shake the memories that continually haunted his dreams. He pulled the top blanket off of him and moved to get off the bed, however his entire lower right leg refused to cooperate with him. He sighed deeply as he ran his hand over his thin shin where the memories pained him even more than the physical pain itself. A small wisp of purple magic emitted from his hand and encircled around his leg and the pain eventually began to subside, but now...now he couldn't get his mind off of it...

The baby blanket off to the side of his bed caught his attention as it had the night before and he reached over to bring it into his lap. He thumbed at the name stitched across it lovingly and let out a sigh as he remembered the very moment he returned home from the Ogre's War and back to his wife, Milah.

---

It was nearly spring by the time Rumpelstiltskin spotted his humble little cottage nestled snugly into the mountains, and despite the searing pain that grew with each step he took, Rumpelstiltskin hastened his pace with a new feeling of hope in his heart. Aided only by a crude bandage job to his ankle area with a two sticks on either side serving as a brace for his shin, and a crude walking stick, Rumpelstiltskin limped along, calling out for his wife Milah as soon as he knew his voice would be able to carry into the house where he knew her to be.

"Milah! MILAH!" Rumpelstiltskin forced open the front door with his left hand, as his right was occupied with keeping his balance with the walking stick. As soon as the door opened, Rumpelstiltskin spotted his wife standing in the center of the room, holding a tiny infant swaddled up in a simple-sewn blanket. He looked past the look of utter surprise that Milah gave him once she saw who had come through her door, as his soft brown eyes landed immediately on the child.

"Rumpel..." Milah said softly in her surprise to find her husband in her home after so many months away. Rumpelstiltskin hobbled himself into the house more, feeling relief that his journey had finally come to an end and that he might finally rest without fear of being attacked during the night. He outstretched his left hand, pointing delicately at the child in his wife's arms.

"Whats her name?" He asked, gasping for breath as he willed himself to a wooden chair so that he might rest properly. Milah hesitated for a moment, her eyes looking her husband up and down but more-so resting on his injured leg.

"Baelfire." She said at last, unable to hold back a proud smile as she uttered the name. Rumpelstiltskin breathed out heavily, trying to laugh but was too tired to make much of a sound.

"A strong name!" He commended happily and fell onto his knees to packed dirt floor by the chair, as his legs refused to carry him a single step further.

"It's something she'll need...if she's to live with the shame of being your daughter." Milah replied bluntly as she watched her husband struggle to pull himself off of the floor and into the wooden chair, causing him to be even more winded in the process.

"Wh-wha-what are you talking about?" Rumpelstiltskin asked, gripping onto his knee tightly in an effort to dull the pain shooting through his leg.

"Rumpel is it true?"

Rumpelstiltskin attempted to move his attention from nursing his leg to his wife, confusion mixing in with the physical pain he wore on his face.

"Is what true?" He breathed out heavily.

"Did you injure yourself?" Milah practically demanded, a tinge of sorrow in her voice. "So that you wouldn't have to fight? So that you would be sent home?"

"Who told you that?" He snapped.

"EVERYONE!" Milah snapped back, holding Baelfire closer to her chest as her voice began to rise. "Rumors travel quickly from the front..." She added on quickly, making sure to make an effort to keep her voice down, however when Rumpelstiltskin didn't answer right away, Milah burst. "Rumpel did you do this to yourself? DID YOU DO THI-"

"YES!" Rumpelstiltskin shouted back, though his head was hung low and unable to look into the eyes of his own wife as guilt quickly overtook him. "A seer told me that I was going to die in the battle..."

"You did this because a SEER told you to do it?" She hissed through clenched teeth.

"She was right about everything else! I left the front to be with you!" He said, extending his hand out to gesture towards her. He choked heavily on his words in an effort to keep the tears at bay. "To be with...Baelfire..."

"You left because you were afraid. you became what everyone thought you were...A COWARD-"

"Shutup..."

"JUST LIKE YOU'RE FATHER!"

Rumpelstiltskin bolted out of the chair, unable to stand her words any longer and knocking the chair over in his anger in the process.

"I'M NOTHING LIKE MY FATHER! He tried to abandon me! I will never, ever do that to my daughter. That's why I did this-" Rumpelstiltskin gestured heavily towards his leg. "-for HER! All for the girl! To save her from the same fate I suffered; growing up without a father..." He felt his legs beginning to give out on him once more and stooped down awkwardly to pick the chair back up and rested back down on it, shaking his head side to side as Milah continued to argue with him.

"You sentence her to a fate much worse; growing up as YOUR daughter..."

"Wha, wh-what else could I do?" He asked looking back up at her, his voice and eyes pleading.

"You could have FOUGHT, Rumpel. You could have DIED!"

Rumpelstiltskin's face immediately fell, even more than the emotions Milah had stirred up in him had already done leaving his mouth open slightly agape.

"You don't mean that." He said to her quietly, and then repeated it once more, louder, when she said nothing in return. Milah instead turned her head to look away from him, however she walked with the baby in her arms to Rumpelstiltskin and laid the baby in his arms before grabbing an empty water bucket and left the home without another word.

The very moment Baelfire was laid into his arms, Rumpelstiltskin felt his emotions take a complete turn. Suddenly, what Milah said didn't matter anymore. The pain his leg was experiencing was no longer there and the thought of his own future was no longer in his mind. All there was, was Baelfire, his daughter, staring up at him with her gorgeous brown eyes, smiling and gurgling up at him. A soft sound of awe came from his throat as he looked down upon the miracle he had helped to create and found his arms instinctively bouncing the baby up and down ever so gently as he held her close to him.

"It's alright Bae..." He cooed, unable to keep the corners of his mouth from twitching into a smile as he met his daughter's stare. Baelfire let out a soft, happy sound and reached her tiny arm up, her hand grabbing onto Rumpelstiltskin's nose. "It's alright...your pappa's here. And I promise, I will never, EVER leave you..."

---

Rumpelstiltskin folded the blanket he held in his lap back up delicately and returned it to his nightstand. Now with his leg acting properly with the aid of magic, he got up from his bed and quickly bathed himself, getting dressed in a white poet shirt with a black leather vest over the top and matching black leather pants with black boots that nearly reached his knees. He pulled aside a sheet that had been covering up a full-length mirror in his bedroom and stared right back at the cold eyes his reflection gave back to him and took in a deep breath, taking in his disfigured and ugly appearance. He covered the mirror back up completely and without even so much as letting his new apprentice know his intentions, he was gone in a puff of blood red smoke.

Collaboration between DragonBeastMode as Prince James and YoshiSkittlez as Rumpelstiltskin

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Charming was lost in a dream, a dream about Snow White and his unborn child. The entire thing was so surreal, which made it all that more startling. He was chasing after Snow until he saw the Evil Queen who captured her with ease, and they were gone.

"Snow!" Charming shouted, bolting upright in bed and covered in sweat. Thankfully his outburst hadn't woken his temporary partner, as Hawkins was still asleep.

Charming quickly got dressed and went down the stairs; he needed to go sit at the beach and gather his thoughts, and some air.

"Snow I will find you, and our child will be born in the safety of our home once we take it back." Charming walked out of the inn and sat near the sea bed to relax for a few moments.

"Still dressing like a prince I see..." A familiar voice sounded behind Prince James. "And with no castle or princess to rule over; such a shame..." Rumpelstiltskin was sitting on an upright barrel on the docks not fifteen feet away from Charming, one leg crossed over the other and looking quite content in his current position there.

Charming rose up from his position on the sea bed.

"Rumpelstiltskin!" Charming was about to charge at him, but he quickly remembered the last time he tried that. It didn't end so well. But that didn't stop him from instinctively reaching for his sword at his hip, but he had forgotten his sword upstairs in the inn, so he had to make sure to be extra careful. "What are you doing here you slimy lizard, what do you want?"

Rumpelstiltskin turned his hands outward and shrugged.

"I'm just here to help." He said simply, his smile unwavering as he watched Prince James' inner struggle with his presence there.

Charming almost started to laugh. "How can you...'The Dark One'...help me?" Charming didnt trust Rumpelstiltskin, no matter how many "good" deeds he would ever do in his immortal life.

"Why...the same way I help everyone else!" Rumpelstiltskin hopped off of the barrel he was sitting on.

"Rumpelstiltskin, why are you really here?" Charming walked closer to the skinny man. "Are you trying to trick me, what is this going to cost me this time?"

"So bold...so gallant...so pointless..." Rumpelstiltskin couldn't help but to roll his eyes a bit at Charming's brash words. However, instead of allowing Prince James the opportunity to respond, Rumpelstiltskin raised his hand and brought his fingers together as a small cloud of purple smoke appeared. By the time the smoke cleared, a small ring was pinched between two of his fingers. "It's no trick dearie, as I said, I'm here to help."

Charming was outraged the moment he saw the ring. "Is that...Snow! H-her ring! You sneaky bastard! How did you get that?" Charming wanted nothing more than to destroy Rumpelstiltskin at this point. "Where is she? What have you done to Snow? She was wearing that ring when she died!" Charming could barely hold himself together, he was starting to get emotional, and it wasn't getting any better for Rumpelstiltskin.

Rumpelstiltskin simply smiled and let out a slight, amused giggle watching Charming practically fall apart in front of him.

"Me? I haven't done anything to her!" He chided defensively. He tossed the ring up in the air a few feet and let it fall back into his open palm. The ring had changed slightly, a soft glow was now encircled around it and a low, soft humming sound seemed to be pulsing from it. "This ring is now enchanted. The closer you get to Snow White, the br-r-r-righter it will glow!" He said, waving his free hand around enthusiastically.

Charming could only hold back from at least attempting to kill Rumpelstiltskin at this point. He wanted to find Snow more than getting revenge on the most cruelist, dangerous traitor ever created.

"And in return...what would I have to do for you?" Charming hesitated, he couldnt believe what was coming out of his own mouth. was he really going to help Rumpelstiltskin?

Rumpelstiltskin closed up his hand around the ring, keeping it from Charming, and pointed a finger at him. "Your companion...the one with the funny hair...he has something I need." Rumpelstiltskin began, gesturing to his own hair flamboyantly when he mentioned 'funny hair.' "He pocesses a map. I need it." He left it at that; short, simple, and leaving no room for any bartering.

Charming stood there, confused for a few seconds. "Why do you need Hawkins map?" He couldn't help but ask. Charming didnt really get into magic users' business, but Hawkins was a friend now to Charming. Taking something that belonged to him would surely rub him the wrong way. "Arent you the great and powerful Dark One, why would you need his map?" He asked.

Again, Rumpelstiltskin rolled his eyes. "That's none of your business." He practically snapped. He opened up his hand again, taunting Charming with Snow White's wedding ring once more. "This is a deal you want to make. Because we both want the same thing."

Charming felt like he was making a deal with the devil, but it was the only way to find Snow and their unborn child. Charming stuck out his hand like a true gentleman. "Rumpelstiltskin... I hate to do this, but we have a deal. But if you trick me, mark my words, I will find a way to kill you... for good." Charming was furious, but he managed to keep his emotions hidden.

An unsettling giggle came from Rumpelstiltskin as the threat was made, but he stuck out his free hand and shook the Prince's. "Deal!" He squeaked and once their hands were seperated once more, he slipped the enchanted ring into a pocket on his black leather vest. "Bring me the map, and you will be united with your 'twoo wuv' once more." He grinned.

It was such a wrong feeling working with 'The Dark One.' The grin, the giggles, the voice... everything about Rumpelstiltskin made Charming uneasy.

"I will bring you the map later on today, when Hawkins and I go ou-"

"Yes yes yes-" Rumpelstiltskin held up a hand to keep Charming from speaking. "I could do without the details. Just...call out my name when you have it, and the trade will be made."

"Until then our business here is done, I will see you later today." Charming nodded once and walked back to the inn, not even bothering to notice Rumpelstiltskin vanishing in a cloud of blood red smoke, although he could hear the giggle he left behind echoing in his mind.

Collaboration between Me as Heather Jekyll, and YoshiSkittlez as Rumpelstiltskin and Mushu

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Heather got up early (much to her relief), and she got to work cleaning the castle of the dust, and cooking breakfast. As she cleaned and cooked, she couldn't help but recall the events from yesterday and last night. There was clearly more to that mentor of hers, just like there was more to Hyde, but of course, she doubted that she would ever find out. As she finished cooking breakfast, which consisted of eggs, fruit, and english muffins, she heard pounding on the door. She hurried to the door and opened it.

"Where is he? Where is that twisted little Imp? I'm going to kill him!" The short woman pushed her way into the castle and past Heather, and although the woman only came up to Heather's shoulders, she held more anger in her body than was probably possible for such a small woman. Heather stumbled a bit when the short woman pushed her way in. She was a bit surprised by the strength the small woman seemed to possess despite her height. Heather was nervous at what would happen, considering that this woman wanted to kill Rumpelstiltskin. She said to her patiently and politely,

"I'll go get Rumpelstiltskin, just wait here, alright?" She then walked upstairs and headed for Rumpelstiltskin's room and knocked on the door, following his instructions from last night. However, when she knocked and he didn't answer, she slightly growled in frustration. Why would he tell her to get him from his room, if he wasn't planning on being there? She went to look for him, and soon she found him in the library. She knocked on the closed door, peeking through the other door that was left slightly open.

Rumpelstiltskin stood before a small table that had been conjured up in the middle of the room. He was already dressed and bathed for the morning, as if he had been up for hours, and oddly enough smelt of the salty sea air; just a bit. The surface of the table was completely covered in vials, jars of ingredients, copper and glass tubes and a small book in the corner opened up to a specific page. He was in the process of dipping the rose he had gathered the previous night into a golden, bubbling liquid. He paused for a moment, hearing a knock at the door, but then proceeded to dip the flower into the hot contents.

"Yes, yes what is it?" Rumpelstiltskin asked, keeping his eyes on the golden liquid, sounding somewhat annoyed at the break in silence that he had grown so used to over the years. He reached over to pick up a bloodied rose thorn and began to squeeze it over the golden liquid. By the magic in his hand, the dried blood from the rose thorn turned liquid once more and he managed two drops of blood in the vial before the thorn shriveled up into nothing. Heather answered Rumpelstiltskin after clearing her throat once,

"Your visitor that you mentioned last night, she's here. She's in the lobby,"

Rumpelstiltskin didn't even so much as budge to acknowledge Heather's words, his interest intent on the brewing concoction in front of him. Silent moments ticked by before he waved his hand over the sarkening, bubbling golden liquid and from the small vial the rose began to emerge, coated completely in gold. He held it in the air with magic for a bit, letting the excess gold drip off of the flower before he began to twist his wrist and fingers, bending the rose to take the shape and form of a simple, golden hair pin for a woman. Heather wondered if Rumpelstiltskin had heard her the first time, but she didn't say anything as she watched him coat a rose in gold, and then turn it into a hair pin. She was curious about how this was done. This phenomenon looked as though it came about by the laws of Chemistry. But she was sure if she were to say anything about it, he would just say that it was by magic. Rumpelstiltskin then reached out to grab the golden rose and then stuffed it into his red leather vest pocket on the inside before turning to Heather.

"She's late." He grumbled, pushing past Heather rather abruptly as if it were Heather's fault, and decended down the stairs to greet his guest. Heather snapped out of her thoughts when he pocketed the hairpin and turned towards her. She heard his grumble and stepped out of the way when he went towards her and went past her. She wanted to grumble about how he made it sound like the visitor's tardiness was her fault. But she didn't say anything and instead headed downstairs as well.

Mushu, against her better judgment, had waited down in the lobby for Rumpelstiltskin, and when the Imp had begun to descend down the stairs, her cold eyes narrowed even more, abandoning her half-interested investigation of one of the candelabras which had been recently cleaned of its dust and cobwebs.

“Careful dearie, bad things tend to happen when we touch what isn’t ours…” Rumpelstiltskin chided with a giggle as he crossed over to Mushu, seeming to not even notice the cold glares he was receiving from the small woman.

“And bad things tend to happen when I’m lied to!” Mushu responded hotly, making Rumpelstiltskin stop in his tracks about ten feet away from her.

“Lied to? I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean-” Rumpelstiltskin replied innocently.

“THE GIRL!” Mushu yelled out, this time moving her own feet to cross the distance between herself and The Dark One. “She’s cursed…a beast! You never said ANYTHING about protecting a wild animal! I nearly died last night keeping the village from skinning her alive!” She continued to holler out, her face just inches from Rumpelstiltskin’s now as she yelled at him. Rumpelstiltskin took a theatrical step backwards and waved his hand in front of his nose.

“And I suppose you couldn’t have brushed your teeth before you came here?” He teased with a crooked smile. Mushu looked less than amused. She jabbed her finger into Rumpelstiltskin’s chest and narrowed her dark brown eyes once more.

Heather at first listened to what was happening, but after the visitor shouted, she figured she should get out of there. Besides...she was sure he was going to say something along the lines of him being hungry anyways, judging from what she had seen so far when it came to his behavior.

“Listen here IMP…if I’m going to go on playing ‘guardian’ for this girl of yours, I want my pay tripled.” Mushu demanded hotly. Again, Rumpelstiltskin took a step backwards and adjusted his red leather vest, brushing his chest where Mushu had jabbed her finger at him. He rolled his neck a bit, loosening up the muscles before turning to walk in the direction of the main hall, following after Heather.
“What-where are you going? RUMPELSTILTSKIN!” Mushu cried out. Rumpelstiltskin turned to face her, his hands outward and shrugged innocently.

“I’m hungry.” He said matter-of-factly, his face confused as to why that wasn't obvious, and then turned to walk under the threshold of the grand room. A muscle in Mushu’s jaw twitched as she had no choice but to follow him.

Heather brought out three dishes of the breakfast she made to the table, the third dish was for the visitor. She had set them at the table and she sat down silently. Rumpelstiltskin had already taken his usual seat at the head of the table, seemingly in a good mood despite his visitor wanting his head on a silver platter. He hummed quietly to himself, watching Mushu approaching him out of the corner of his eye with an amused smirk and reached for an apple that had been brought to him on one of the plates. He leaned back in his chair and took a bite while Mushu rested the palms of her hands on the table at his side, still glaring at him and waiting for him to speak. Moments went by, and when he said nothing and instead chewed on the apple, Mushu cried out in annoyance,

"What the hell is your problem?" She demanded. Her arm, as quick as a viper, shot out and grabbed the apple from Rumpelstiltskin's grasp and in her anger, chucked the fruit halfway across the room where it hit the wooden floor and rolled louder than an apple should have sounded when rolling. Rumpelstiltskin closed his eyes softly and brought his hands together, seeming to be in deep thought about something before he casually extended his hand and Mushu's tiny body went flying across the room by magic, landing harshly next to the apple.

Heather watched Mushu carefully, silently hoping that she wouldn't pick a fight with the imp. Of course, her hopes were dashed when Mushu took the apple from Rumpelstiltskin and threw it across the room.

“Me? Oh, I don’t have a problem. Not a care in the world!” Rumpelstiltskin sing-songed as he stood up from his chair and walked to where he had sent Mushu flying. “You, however, now have a problem dearie…and that problem is, how are you planning on getting out of here alive?” Rumpelstiltskin reached the small woman and pressed the bottom of his boot onto her head, ever so slightly applying more and more pressure until the brave warrior started to grimace in pain. Mushu however, through her gritted teeth, managed a reply.

"We...have...a...deal!"

Heather felt nauseous as she watched Rumpelstiltskin send the woman flying by magic and then started pressing his boot against the woman's head, threatening to crush it. Heather stood up, knowing that she couldn't just stand by and watch as Rumpelstiltskin tried to kill that woman. That act would be just as evil as anything that Evelyn would do. She spoke up, trying to reason with him,

"Rumpelstiltskin, stop! If you kill her, then she can't go through with her part of whatever deal you two made with each other,"

Rumpelstiltskin heard Heather's voice, though it was far, far away and barely audible. Still though, the nature of a woman's pleading voice caught his attention and brough him to look at his apprentice, however, it wasn't Heather Jekyll that was standing there trying to reason him, but Belle.

---

Four months ago...

Rumpelstiltskin barged himself into the dungeon where he had been keeping his newest servant and found the woman sobbing uncontrollably on the stone floor, padded by only a simple, thin blanket.

“When you so eagerly agreed to come and work for me, I assumed that you wouldn’t miss your family quite so much.”

Belle quickly pulled herself up and off of the floor to face her master.
“I made my sacrifice for them; of course I miss them you beast!”

“Yes, yes, of course…but the crying…must…stop! Night after night! It’s making it very difficult for me to spin! You know…I-I do my best thinking then!”

Belle tried to wipe away the still falling tears in an effort to stop her crying, fearful of what The Dark One might do to her if she didn’t. Rumpelstiltskin looked upon her face and sighed. He held out his hand and a puff of dark purple smoke encircled around it and suddenly, a rather lavish white pillow appeared in his hand.

“Here…perhaps this will help?” He asked genuinely, offering it to her.

“For me?” Belle asked, questioning his motives.

“Not quite so beastly now am I?” He snapped and threw the pillow at her harshly which Belle managed to catch. She turned to set the extravagant pillow on her poor excuse for a bed and then turned back to Rumpelstiltskin.

“Thank you. Maybe now, I can actually get some sleep…” She said sincerely and wiping away the last of her slowly drying tears.

“No no no no, it’s not to help you sleep dearie, it’s to help muffle the cries so I can get back to work!” Rumpelstiltskin jabbed at her, not at all wanting her to mistake his intentions. Suddenly, the sound of breaking glass came from upstairs and Belle and Rumpelstiltskin both looked towards the staircase that would lead them upstairs. If they were both down here…then who was up there? Rumpelstiltskin hurriedly bounded up the stairs with Belle quickly following behind him.

Being the first one up the stairs and into the Grand Hall, Rumpelstiltskin found a hooded man reaching for one of the magical wands Rumpelstiltskin had out on display.

“Are you sure you want to do this dearie?” Rumpelstiltskin asked, making the hooded man stop what he was doing and turn to look at him. The hooded man was also holding fast onto a bow of superior craftsmanship with a quiver of arrows strapped to his back. Belle eventually made it to Rumpelstiltskin’s side as the man lowered his hood to reveal his stubble-covered face and cheeky grin. He proceeded to take the wand from the holder and slowly approached the Imp and girl.

“Pretty sure…” The man replied, keeping his grin all the while.

“If you don’t know how to use that wand…it can do nasty things to you.” Rumpelstiltskin said, almost sounding like he was trying to warn the thief. The thief stopped walking and looked upon the wand in his hand before sliding it back into the quiver on his back and grabbed an arrow in its place.

“Well then, I’ll stick to what I know works…” He said and nocked the arrow to the bow, pointing it directly at Rumpelstiltskin. “You know what this arrow can do to you…” The thief warned. Rumpelstiltskin waved his hand in a non-caring manner.

“It has to hit me first.” And with a blink of an eye, Rumpelstiltskin was gone. Both Belle and the thief looked about the room in sheer amazement, looking for the Imp who had materialized a few moments later on the opposite corner of the room. The thief re-aimed his bow and laughed lightly.

“Shouldn’t be a problem…” He said taking a few steps towards Rumpelstiltskin’s new location. “An arrow fired from this bow always finds its target.” He paused to let out a happy sigh. “Ah, don’t you just love magic?” The thief smiled and let lose the arrow.

Rumpelstiltskin only smiled and vanished once more before the arrow could find his chest and appeared not two feet away from the thief himself. The arrow, however, in its flight, curved it’s direction and found its way to Rumpelstiltskin’s chest where his heart was, forcing the Imp to stagger backwards a few steps. Belle let out a soft gasp and picked up the ends of her dress, attempting to run to him.

“I know I do.” The thief responded to his own question and headed towards the doors to leave. However, the thief only got a few feet in before Rumpelstiltskin let out a laugh.

“As. Do. I!” Rumpelstiltskin pulled the arrow from his chest, the head of the arrow not even covered in a single drop of blood, nor was there any entry wound on his chest where the arrow had pierced him. The arrow vanished in his hand in a puff of purple smoke and the Imp laughed once more reading the utterly shocked face of the thief in front of him. “But don’t you know? All magic comes with a price! And in your case…that’s me!” Rumpelstiltskin’s grin split open to reveal his blackening teeth, cackling with thoughts of what he was going to do with his new prisoner.

Hours later, the sound of tormented screaming from the dungeons could be heard upstairs in the Great Hall where Belle was busy sweeping up the glass from where the thief had broken into the castle. Rumpelstiltskin hadn’t even heard her sigh as he emerged from the dungeons, taking off the blood stained leather gloves he wore and tossed them onto the wooden table in the room.

“I’m gonna need another apron.” He said to Belle, untying a bloodstained blacksmith’s apron he wore around his middle.

Belle coughed once to find her voice.
“Uh, They’re uh…they’re on the line…drying…it’ll be some time…”

“Ah fine, fine, get to cleaning this one as well…” Rumpelstiltskin said tossing the apron onto the table next to the rubber gloves. “I’ll be back later.” He said heading towards the doors to the exit.

“All this…because he tried to steal a magic wand?” Belle demanded, unable to hold her tongue any longer.

“No, because he tried to steal from ME! The Dark One! You try that you get skinned alive! Everyone knows that!”

“Actually…no, they don’t…” Belle corrected him, making Rumpelstiltskin take a moment to think that over.

“Well they will once they discover the body.” He corrected himself with an unsettling grin and proceeded out the doors in which he locked up magically in case Belle tried to leave in his absence.

It wasn’t until later that evening that Rumpelstiltskin returned to the castle. As instructed, Belle had cleaned his aprons and he adorned one of the clean ones while procuring a rather large hunting knife and used a whet-stone to sharpen the edge. He could feel Belle’s eyes on his back as he did, pretending to read from a book in her lap, and so he decided to break the silence.

“I’ll try not to be too loud. Can’t promise the same courtesy…from our prisoner…”

Rumpelstiltskin smirked and took the sharpened knife down into the dungeon. A cry of surprise echoed up from the dungeons, startling Belle, though it wasn’t the cry that startled her, but the fact that Rumpelstiltskin charged back up the stairs into the room to approach Belle in sheer anger.

“Where is he?” Rumpelstiltskin demanded approaching the supposedly reading girl.

“Gone. I let him go.” Belle said calmly.

“WHAT? He was a thief!”

“Which doesn’t give you the right to kill him.” Belle retorted, bringing her eyes up from her book to look at Rumpelstiltskin.

“It gives me every right!” Rumpelstiltskin hollered. Belle’s face remained unchanged, firm. “Ah let me guess! You think he’s a hero…stealing from me for some noble cause. YOU READ TOO MANY BOOKS DEARIE!” Rumpelstiltskin waved his hand, making the book in Belle’s lap disappear in a puff of purple smoke. “There…maybe that will stop filling your head with poisonous thoughts!”

“I didn’t free him because of what I read in my books. I saw good in him. That man only wanted to escape with his life!” Belle objected.

“Oh is that what you thought? Our thief escaped with MORE than his life!” Rumpelstiltskin gestured towards the pedestal that held the wand, only the display was empty; the wand had been stolen once more. “You were tricked, you foolish, GULLIBLE GIRL!”

“There-there must be an explanation! We, we don’t know why he needed that wand.” Belle stammered. She had no idea that the thief had made off with the wand after she had let him go.

“He took the wand because he WANTED MAGIC! People who steal magic never have good intentions!” Rumpelstiltskin made his way over to the table and threw the knife he had been holding down harshly.

“No! NO! You can’t tell what’s in a person’s heart until you TRULY know them!” Belle said, quickly following after him.

“Oh we’ll see what’s in his heart alright, when I shoot an ARROW straight through it.” Rumpelstiltskin said, pretending to shoot a bow and arrow. “ And because I am a SHOWMAN-“ Rumpelstiltskin outstretched his arm, a bow materializing in his hand soon after. “- it’ll be with HIS BOW. And because this is YOUR FAULT, you get to come with me and watch and KNOW as the blood dr-r-r-rips from his carcass. It’ll be you and your RAGS to WIPE IT UP!”

Rumpelstiltskin had Belle sit in his carriage opposite of him, however his eyes were not on her but on the scenery around them as his tracking skills were being put to the test. After many silent minutes, Rumpelstiltskin spoke.

“We’re losing track of him. This forest is too thick!” He said eerily calmly.

“Maybe we should return home?” Belle suggested with a gentle shrug, hoping that they had indeed lost track of the thief.

“What? And let the thief escape? What would people think if I spared the life of someone who stole from me?”

“That there’s actually a man hiding behind the beast?” Belle countered with a slight jab.

“There isn’t.” Rumpelstiltskin replied immediately.

“Then why didn’t you kill me when I had freed the prisoner?”

“Well I would have…but uh, good help these days is really hard to find.”

“I think that you are not as dark as you want people to believe. I think that deep down, there’s love in your heart. And for something more than power.”

Rumpelstiltskin paused and let his eyes lower a bit.
“Your right…there is something I love…” He said softly and leaned in towards Belle, causing her to lean in closer to him as he was about to reveal a deep secret about himself. “MY THINGS!” Rumpelstiltskin shouted out, quickly catching Belle off guard, but honestly, she shouldn’t have expected anything more from him. Rumpelstiltskin held up a hand, somehow signaling the coachman-less carriage to stop.

“You really are as dark as people say.” Belle replied bitterly.

“Darker dearie, MUCH darker…”

The carriage came to a stop and Rumpelstiltskin stepped out, approaching the small caravan that had blocked their path onwards. A man atop of a horse slipped down from his mount and walked over to Rumpelstiltskin, obviously drunk off of his rocker which made Rumpelstiltskin wrinkle up his nose at the foul smell.

“What are you doing in my woods?” The drunk man demanded.

“Pardon the intrusion Sheriff, uh, I’m lookin for a thief!” Rumpelstiltskin said, putting on the fake persona of a common villager. “He attacked me with this bow-“ Rumpelstiltskin gestured towards the weapon in his hand. “-I-I traced him as far as these woods and then he vanished!”

The Sheriff took a good look at the bow, taking it in his own hand for a moment and nodded.
"Yes I know exactly who your after. But I also know who you are...Rumpelstiltskin..."

"My reputation precedes me, excellent!" The Imp said sounding rather pleased and dropping the facade.

"Yes as does your pensionate for making deals. I'll tell you where you can find your theif...if you give me something in return." The Sheriff smirked, pulling a flask from his hip and took a long swig of the alcohol inside. Rumpelstiltskin wiggled his fingers.

"What do you want?" He asked, unable to resist the idea of making a deal.

"A night with your wench!" The Sheriff said pointing over Rumpelstiltskin's shoulder at Belle, who had followed him out of the carraige to see what the commotion was about. Rumpelstiltskin paused, looked over to Belle who remained straight-faced, and then back to the Sheriff.

"Ah...she's not for sale..." Rumpelstiltskin said firmly. The Sheriff laughed.

"You can't part with her for say...an hour?" He tried. Rumpelstiltskin only stared at the Sheriff. "Twenty minutes?" The Sheriff tried again. Rumpelstiltskin put his hand to his head.

"Let me think..." He started, and then waved his hand. A trail of black smoke coming from the Sheriff's mouth to Rumpelstiltskin's outstretched hand became visable, and as soon as the black smoke cleared something pink and wet appeared in his hand. The Sheriff tried to scream, however only gurgling, gagging noises came from his throat as his tongue had been taken from him directly. His struggle to make even the simplest of sounds amused Rumpelstiltskin, causing him to giggle like a child. "I propose a new deal...I give you this back, and in return, you tell me EVERYTHING you know about the man I am hunting."

The Sheriff tried to gurgle in response, his wide eyes of terror giving away that he hardly understood what was going on.

"You ought to be more careful with your posessions!" Rumpelstiltskin teased. "Do you agree to my terms?" The Sheriff gurgled again. "What was that?" The Imp teased once more, causing the Sheriff to practically start crying with the loss of his voice. "Oh I'll take that as a yes then." The black smoke showed up once more, and the tongue returned from Rumpelstiltskin's hand back into the Sheriff's mouth. "Start. Talking."

“The thief you’re after…I’ve been chasing him for years! He RUINED me! He stole the woman I love! He-he made me the laughing stock of all of Nottingham!” The sheriff managed to blubber out in his drunken stupor. Rumpelstiltskin remained unmoved by the man’s sob story.

“How can I find him?” He asked quickly.

“The last I heard, he was hiding in the outs of Sherwood Forest…”

“And his name?” Rumpelstiltskin asked, braving to get closer to the drunk Sheriff.

“Robin Hood. He goes by Robin Hood.” The Sheriff spat out as disgust plagued his mouth at the very name.

It didn’t take too long to find Robin Hood by the Sheriff’s instruction. Sure enough, he was spotted just on the outskirts of Sherewood forest atop of a horse. A separate wagon was being pulled towards Robin with a woman lying in the back looking to be very ill. Robin Hood jumped from his horse, pulled out the stolen wand and approached the woman in the back of the wagon.

“That woman…” Belle said once the two of them had exited their carriage and walked to the cliffs edge where they were able to oversee everything.

“That must be the one he stole from the Sheriff.” Rumpelstiltskin said setting down the quiver of arrows next to a tree trunk and pulled one out. After all, all he would need was one. Belle watched as Robin Hood approached the woman who went into a sudden coughing fit.

“She’s sick!” Belle proclaimed in worry. “She’s going to die!”

Rumpelstiltskin nodded simply.
“And so is he.” He said raising the bow and notching the arrow.

“STOP!” Belle shouted and put her hand on his arm, forcing him to lower the bow. Rumpelstiltskin sighed and felt his eyes roll in annoyance. Belle then watched as Robin Hood hovered the magic wand over the woman. There was a faint sound of wind chimes coming from it as he moved the wand back and forth and her coughing eased to a stop and color returned to her face.

“I’m right about him!” Belle said to Rumpelstiltskin happily. “I’m right about why he stole the wand. He did it so he could heal the woman he loves.”

“He’s still a thief.” Rumpelstiltskin said simply, unmoved by the situation.

“And she would have died if he hadn’t stolen your wand!”

“And now HE gets to die! And she can tell ALL of Sherewood Forest what happens when you cross Rumpelstiltskin!” Leaving the conversation to no more objections, Rumpelstiltskin
waved his hand and suddenly Belle found her entire bottom half buried in the dirt where her feet had been, unable to move no matter how much she squirmed. “THAT should give you a good view!” Rumpelstiltskin jested and once again pulled the bow string and pointed the arrow at his target.

“You don’t have to do this! There’s good in you! I was right about the thief and I am right about you!”

Rumpelstiltskin ignored her pleas and steadied his aim, however, the bow began to falter as the now healed woman got up from the wagon to hug Robin Hood, her belly swollen with that of a child.

“L-l-look! She’s pregnant!” Belle said, also observing this new bit of information, she would use whatever she could to spare the thief’s life. “You are NOT the kind of man to leave a child fatherless…” Rumpelstiltskin’s face fell as he watched Robin Hood kiss his pregnant lover, watching the happiness overflow from them like a geyser. However, Rumpelstiltskin brought the bow back up and let the arrow fire.

“NO!” Belle screamed.

The arrow sailed through the air, missing Robin Hood’s ear by a few inches and embedding its head into the wagon where the woman had once been. Startled, Robin Hood hurried the woman away from the wagon and helped her onto the horse where he got on after her and kicked the horse into a run.

“What happened?” Belle squeaked, unbelieving of what she had just witnessed.

“I missed.” Rumpelstiltskin said with a sneer. He waved his hand once again and Belle found her feet on solid ground once again instead of three feet under. “Get back to the carriage. I’m bored of this forest.”

“You’re…you’re not going after him?” Belle questioned, unable to let her feet move just yet.

“He’s not worth the effort.”

“You spared his life!” Belle observed out loud, braving to take a few steps towards him.

“What? I did nothing of the sort.”

“That bow has magic in it.” Belle said now standing directly by Rumpelstiltskin’s side. “It never misses its target.”

“Well perhaps the magic just simply wore-“ He turned to face Belle, surprised to see her standing so close to him and looking on at him with knowing, kind eyes. “-off…” Belle tried to hide a small smile and took the chance to wrap her arms around Rumpelstiltskin’s neck in a gentle hug. Rumpelstiltskin, too shocked at the physical contact, did not hug her back. Belle eventually eased off of him though and gave him a smile as if to say ‘thank you’ and headed back to the carriage as she had been instructed to do so earlier. When she didn’t hear him coming, she stopped to turn to look at him.

“Aren’t you coming?” She asked politely. Finally being able to feel his feet once again, Rumpelstiltskin stooped down to pick up the quiver of arrows and slung it over his shoulder. A slight smirk crossed his face as he then followed Belle back to the carriage to return home.

---

Belle's figure slowly melted away leaving Heather Jekyll in her place, though the plea in her eyes matched his memory of Belle's exactly. Rumpelstiltskin closed his eyes hard, willing for the memories to stop; to go away. He removed his boot from Mushu's head and took a couple steps backwards from her, his movements seeming somewhat shaky and unsure, however it didn't last long. Heather watched as Rumpelstiltskin looked at her shakily. She could see the familiar look of deep thought in his eyes. After a while of silence, she saw him move his foot off and back away shakily from the small woman.

"As it turns out, I still need you alive." Rumpelstiltskin said allowing Mushu to pull herself to her feet. Rumpelstiltskin pulled out the golden rose hair pin he had created earlier and handed it out for Mushu to take. "Here, get Belle to wear this, and you won't have to worry about that monster taking her over again." He said, his voice actually sounding promising for once. Heather watched Rumpelstiltskin give the pin to the woman, and Heather sighed silently in relief.

Mushu took the hair pin skeptically and looked it over. It looked to be completely ordinary, however the pressured headache reminded Mushu immediately that she wasn't dealing with anyone that settled for 'ordinary.'

"And my gold?" Mushu dared to ask, pocketing the hair pin in a pouch she had tied to her waist.

"The same as before, however I do wish to alter our deal. Instead of you coming here for your gold, I will have it sent to your house. Consider that to be in your favor."

Mushu raised a questioning eyebrow. "Then, how am I to give you reports?" She asked.

"You won't. I don't want to have anything more to do with her. The less I know...the better..." Rumpelstiltskin's head hung slightly, as if a heavy, emotional weight was pulling it down as it was evident in the way he spoke. "Now go, before I change my mind." Mushu bowed respectfully towards Rumpelstiltskin and hurried out of the Great Hall and into the main Foyer where she let herself out, relieved that she would never have to step foot in this castle again.

Heather noticed how Rumpelstiltskin's head hung. She could make an educated guess as to what he was thinking. She felt pity for the imp, but she didn't say anything as he dismissed Mushu. As soon as she was gone, Heather sat down at the table again. She was glad that she had managed to do something and save a life. It was something she knew she would never be able to do while Hyde was in control. But even so, that was much in comparison to the number of lives Hyde destroyed.

She snapped out of those thoughts, and looked to Rumpelstiltskin in concern. As much as she would like to ask, and possibly console the imp, she knew he wouldn't tell her anything anyways.

Mushu had only made it down the path from The Dark Castle a little short of a mile before she was forced to the side of the road for a large black carriage to pass her by. It was drawn by four superior looking horses, all of which that made Mushu's horse she was forced to leave back in the village because of exhaustion look like a tiny pony. It wasn't just the horses that caught Mushu's eye, however, since there were six men dressed in black armor walking with the carriage; two on their own horses in the front, two on either side of the carriage on foot, and two bringing up the rear on foot. The only kind of carriage that Mushu figured to be so heavily guarded had to be coming from some sort of Royalty; it really was a shame she didn't know too much about the Royal families here.

The carriage passed Mushu by, however came to a slow stop fifteen or so paces behind her, causing the Chinese woman to stop and take a look with interest. The carriage door popped open and a truly beautiful, pale woman stuck her face out and looked back at the Chinese woman on the trail.

"Did my carriage splash you?" The woman asked kindly, glancing down at the small mud puddles that spread over the dirt trail. Mushu was quick to shake her head no. The woman stepped out of the carriage a bit more and spoke to her coachman as her feet touched the top of the path. "My legs need a bit of a stretch, I will walk for now." The woman strode over to Mushu with such elegance, it confirmed her theory about this coach coming from royalty. Only women with high status could walk so effortlessly on rugged terrain in heels.

"It's not very common I come across people on this trail. Tell me, are you coming from The Dark Castle?" The woman asked Mushu, gesturing with her black-laced gloved hand for the two of them to walk, away from the castle where the carriage was initially headed.

"The...Dark Castle?" Mushu asked with a quirked eyebrow, not only to the woman's question, but to the fact that she insisted that they walked in the opposite direction that she had been initially heading in. "I...I wasn't aware it had a name. If you mean the castle belonging to Rumpelstiltskin, then yes."

The woman in black put her hand over her heart, and her ruby red lips parted in slight surprise.

"Oh my dear, how are you still breathing?" She asked in surprise. "The Dark One is truly a cruel man, very few people venture to his castle and return in once piece."

"We have a deal." Mushu said with a casual shrug and pulled out the golden rose hair pin Rumpelstiltskin had given her earlier. "There's this girl he wanted me to look after, but she was cursed, so he gave me this to give to her." She offered the golden rose hair pin to the stranger to look at. The woman took the item delicately in her hands and looked it over closely, and Mushu could have sworn that she saw the corner of her ruby red lips twitch in an attempt to cover up a smile.

"A girl you say?" She asked turning the golden rose in her hands. "Her name wouldn't happen to be Belle...would it?"

Mushu hesitated before answering. This stranger seemed to know an awful lot about Rumpelstiltskin which more than likely spelt danger for herself. However strange, though, this woman seemed to have genuine intentions. Perhaps she was the 'good' that would rid of the 'evil' that she had seen take place in history time and time again.

"Yes, she's back in her own village now being watched over by...friends..." Mushu extended her hand to take back the golden hair pin from the woman, however the stranger jerked her hand back, not quite wanting to part with the enchanted object just yet. "Please, I must be going. If she turns back into that monster again people could die." Mushu halfly pleaded with the woman. This stranger may have been royalty, but she was a trained killer and highly doubted that she would be able to put up a reasonable fight against her if the need arose.

The stranger stopped walking and turned to face Mushu, blocking her path onwards that would eventually lead back to the village she had spoken of. Mushu stopped and met the woman's eyes, her face remaining firm as she once again held out her hand for the hair pin.

"No..." The woman in black said simply, letting her word trail off. Before Mushu's face even had a chance to react to the confusion of her reply, the woman's hand shot forward and embedded into her chest, clutching quickly onto Mushu's still beating heart. Mushu's body was on fire from the chest up; and completely numb from the chest down. The woman pulled her hand back out of the Chinese girl's chest and Mushu found her eyes looking at her very own heart clutched in the grasp of the strangers hand.

"No..." The woman said again, now observing the golden hair pin she held tightly in her opposite hand as if it were a great treasure. "Actually, you've been quite helpful, but I will be making the delivery." Without even looking at the heart, the woman began to tighten her grip on the organ, forcing Mushu to fall to her knees from the lack of strength that suddenly ran through her body.

"W-what are you doing?" Mushu grimaced, trying to look up at the woman in black that now seemed to tower over her.

"It's nothing personal dear. I'm just tying up some lose ends." The woman in black replied, taking her attention off of the hair pin and down to the Chinese girl by her feet. Her lips curled into a vicious smile as she squeezed the heart harder and harder in her hand, watching the life drain from the small girl's body and eyes until the heart crumpled down into nothing but a handful of powder.

Regina let the grains of powder trickle from her hand as she watched the lifeless corpse of Mushu collapse down onto the dirt path until the last of what used to be a heart was carried away by a small gust of wind.

"I do hate the common riff-raff..." Regina sneered to herself, immediately dropping the 'nice girl' act and used her now free hand to gather up the front of her dress and stepped over the body of Mushu to walk the short distance back to her carriage.

"Are we still heading to The Dark Castle my Queen?" The coachman asked upon her arrival. Regina stepped back into the carriage and shut the small door.

"Plans have changed, we're going to pay a visit to a small nearby village instead..." Regina looked back to the golden hair pin in her hand and her white smile spread even wider.

Alexandre tousled about restlessly in his sleep, tossing and turning as though he were being attacked by a phantom foe. Suddenly, without warning, he awoke with a start; shooting up to a sitting position and immediately regretting it as a dull ache began to spread from his spine across his appendages. This floor was obviously not made for comfort whilst sleeping, and the pile of straw was little better in providing any bedding.

Alexandre rubbed at his temple, trying to will away the feeling of tiredness that still clung onto him. He tried to recollect what he had been dreaming about. Something horrible enough to prematurely wake him, but his wits were in a muddle as he tried to recall all of his faculties.

Then he remembered, suddenly, as if a bucket of cold water was upturned on his head. It was about home...about Alice....

Many years ago.......

Wonderland, a haven for the outlandish and the strange: where everything was topsy-turvy and downside-up. The colors of the land were vibrant and bright, with little to no darks or grays present anywhere. The roads were colored a garish yellow, the skies a bright celeste color, and the overgrown fungi that populated the land being colored varying shades of orange and red, riddled with white polka dots.

Off in a clearing leftways from Whatswhere was an especially tall mushroom, refurbished into a small, modest, yet comfortable-looking home. A quaint wooden door marked the entrance at the base of the stem where two windows occupied either side. A single window was placed at the cap, along with a small stone chimney, dutifully puffing out smoke.

A small pond sat at one end of the clearing, populated by lily pads and an array of Wonderland's fauna that enjoyed the more wet, soggy conditions that life at court never seemed to appeal to.

The inside of the mushroom looked decent enough, the main room functioning as a sitting room, kitchen, and dining room all jumbled into one. A tiny hearth provided a refulgent glow to the otherwise dim lighting. A wooden table, large enough for two was placed in the center of the room, a single candle at the center. In the corner was a single bed with a splintered frame, the matting made of straw. A winding staircase lined the inner wall of the mushroom, leading up to another closed door where the stem met the cap; most likely another bedroom.

At the modest dining table sat Alexandre (it was the only name he could remember), at this time no older than six-and-twenty. He was no highborn man, by any standard but attempted to look as regaled as he dare for his birth and income, wearing a black corduroy frock coat that obviously looked worn with gray pinstripe trousers, an olive green tweed waistcoat with a worn white-and-brown cravat, and a pair of dusty leather shoes.

He had a single hand cupped around his slightly scruffy chin, blue eyes closed as he lost himself in thought. It was quite obvious something was on his mind.

He was interrupted, however, by the creaking of the hinges from the door upstairs, preceding light, slightly hurried footsteps coming down the steps. A young girl appeared at the bottom, wearing a simple dress and apron fit for a milkmaid or washerwoman. But her dog-eared clothing did little to mask her beauty. A young lass of fourteen, it was quite apparent that her beauty would only increase in scale as she got older. Her hair, which naturally curled at the base was colored a chestnut brown color, offsetting her rather pale skin. Her eyes were colored grey as a winter sky and a warm look was quite apparent as her thin lips curled into a smile.

"You've been quiet." The young girl commented as she strolled over to where Alexandre sat, seating herself in the vacant chair near him. "Usually I hear you rehearsing your act from upstairs." She added, though not unkindly. "Cat got your tongue?" She asked playfully, a sportive gleam in her eyes as she spoke.

"No, no..." Alexandre responded, seemingly only half-paying attention. "Just thinking up ideas for tonight's show." He added, cocking his head sideways to look at her. "I need to add something...exciting to tonight's act. I need all the money I can get; especially if I want to get the White Rabbit off our back with this month's taxes." He said, sounding tired and weary, but still warm enough.

"You'll do fine, trust me." The girl reassured genuinely, placing one small, smooth hand atop his. "You're the best illusionist in Wonderland. Before you know it, you'll be performing your show in front of the Queen!" Though every inhabitant either hated or feared the Queen of Hearts, her name held great sway throughout the land, and being called to an audience and surviving the encounter was a great feat for any mummer or magician.

"Oh, the Queen, eh? That'll be the day." Alexandre replied coyly with a small chuckle, playing along with the girl's game. "You do enjoy your fantasies, Alice." He started, rising from his seat. "Even in a place such as Wonderland you manage to keep your head in the clouds." He added with a smirk.

"I consider it a talent." Alice replied, without skipping a beat. "Besides, how else would you get ideas for your show?" She added-on with a wink.

"Ok, ok, fair enough." Alexandre held his hands up in defeat, giving up. "Now then, I need to head to market to pick up a few things for dinner tonight before the show. Hopefully I won't run into Rabbit..." He said, his voice becoming less cheery. The White Rabbit was decent enough, for a rabbit. Unless you owed him a debt. Though physically unimposing, the Rabbit was persistent and minding, always hounding on citizens to pay their taxes on time. He spoke with the Queen's authority, and anyone who was found harassing, attacking, or otherwise bullying the Rabbit was taken swiftly and beheaded.

"Don't be gone long!" Alice said as Alexandre headed towards the front door. "I can help you rehearse your act once you get back home!"

Alexandre offered only a small smile in return before leaving the large mushroom.

Once outside and away from prying eyes, Alexandre reached into the confines of his coat, pulling out a clear, corked bottle filled a quarter-way with a teal colored liquid. Around the cork at the neck of the bottle was a small label with "Drink Me" written in small, tight cursive.

Alexandre plucked the cork from the opening and took a swig from the bottle, his face pinched as the liquid seemed to pop and fizzle in the back of his throat.

He inconspicuously plugged the cork back on the bottle and hid it once again in his coat before leaving.
--
Alexandre shook his head hurriedly, as if to clear the dream. But it was more than a dream: it was a flashback, a recollection. As if he was witnessing fragments of his own life playing out in front of him. Though he had never particularly loved Wonderland, it was still his home, and he was at relative peace there...with Alice.

He could do no more now than think on his past and current actions. The inconsistent drip of water leaking onto the stone floor was both an annoyance and a comfort. He closed his eyes, and waited for nothing.

(Collaboration between Major Ursa as Night, Huntress as Belle and YoshiSkittlez as Red)

The darkness of...well, anything, it wasn't going to be a problem for him to see into or through. The boredom of a long lived being such as he, well, it was quite amazing at time...light of the day, peeking in through the spaces between the wood panels of the barn, each beam seemed to try and blind him at any given chance. Far too late. The personification was done, quite a thick pile of wood shavings and chips covered and carpetted the area around his feet, but he paid them no mind.

Taking a few steps back from the barn doors, Night stared up and down at his handy work. One door was a stylized carving of his new werewolf companion, 'Red', in her wolf form. On the other door was the stylized carving of the 'Beast'. In the spaces of the doors that weren't occupied by these two big carvings, there were instead many small horses carved. It was rather scary, how boredom could drive a man to do such a thing through the night...but this certainly was the most tame of things.

The light brown eyes of the she-wolf slowly fluttered open in a blurry daze. With a quiet groan of pain, Red managed to sit up on her own, reaching her hand back to pull some bits of straw that had decided to make a nest in her long black hair while she had slept. She didn't even remember falling asleep actually, the last thing she remembered was arguing with...'The Wraith' and then something about a woman needing to find a way to end the curse of the other female and then...nothing. She hissed inwardly as she moved to stand up, the combination of pain in her ribs and leg nearly knocking her out cold again. However, it was enough to force her to sit back down in the pile of hay with a less-than-pleased grunt.

Brushing off some shavings from a carved horse, Night plopped himself back into the hay when his wolfish companion started trying to get up, making many a sound before dropping back down, "Why, exactly, are you trying to get up? Your injuries won't allow for it."

Red shot Night a look that immediately told him to keep his mouth shut as she still tried to wipe the sleep from her eyes and pluck off a few more strands of straw from her hair and red cloak.

"Why, exactly, are you still here? Don't you have animal corpses to defile or something?" She sneered, immediately bringing their conversation from last night back to the surface. However, this time, Red ran her fingers through her hair and sighed while looking down. "I'm sorry, I'm just not much of a morning person." When she looked back up, the first thing she noticed was the door of the barn, however it seemed to have transformed if by magic during the time she slept. The detail was incredible and left her mouth hanging open if but for a moment before looking back to him, noticing the wood shavings he was covered in. "Did you-did you do that?"

At the mention of 'defiling corpses'...whatever the girl meant by that...he gave her a funny look, before glancing over at the hay bale nearby. Behind it, a sacked stash of older rabbits the shadow had caught earlier in the night, for when one of the humans would need to eat or something. The woman never returned with anything but his requested water, and the shade himself did not need to eat. Somehow, Red's near accurate guess for the defiling part, that comment just made the situation that much more awkward.

From under his cloak, Night coughed at Red noticing his wood carvings. "I was bored."

A deep breath escaped the brown haired woman that lay nude on the ground in the barn. Voices were distant in her ears but they slowly grew louder. Shaking her head slightly she grunted. Her head throbbing. Slowly she opened her eyes. At first her vision was blurred, scents began to enter her sensitive nose as she blinked a few times in hopes of clearing her sight. Although unfamiliar to Belle herself the scents did register in her mind. She had recently encountered these smells. Her vision eventually adjusted, her surroundings unfamiliar. Where was she? Pushing herself up slightly she looked around.

The steady thump of a heartbeat and a foreign breathing pattern caught her attention. She swiftly looked over her right shoulder. Amber eyes caught a figure. She looked in fear and worry. It was another woman, a large deep red cloak covering her.

“Wh—Where am I?” Belle asked, before noticing a second figure standing closer to the doors. A tall, dark man.

Red pulled her attention from the impressive art display on the barn doors to the woman she had nearly died to save from an angry mob just a few hours ago, hearing her soft voice as she woke. Relief washed over Red immediately when she realized that the girl really would be okay and offered the woman a soft, white smile. She attempted to ignore the feeling of her skin pulling at the three red gashes across her left eye and bridge of her nose and shifted her body uncomfortably to pull off her red cloak, immediately realizing that the woman didn't have a stitch of clothing on her.

"It's okay, you're safe here." Red said trying to sound sweet, although a pained grunt came out as she pulled her cloak off. With a great amount of effort on her part, Red tossed the red cloak over to the naked woman (though mostly covered by the hay) and then settled her tired, beaten body back into her own small pile of hay. "Here, put that on. We'll see about getting you some clothes from the village."

The woman was hurt. Belle frowned slightly. Who were these people? Why was she with them? Watching the cloak fly through the air she quickly shifted her gaze to the other two before paying attention to the next set of words that were spoken. Her eyes grew wide as her cheeks burned a bright red, her jaw tightly clenched as she looked down upon her naked body. She quickly scrambled to grab the cloak, swiftly covering herself.

She brought her knees up to her chest. The soft, cloak practically covering her whole body. Too embarrassed to look at the other two Belle’s gaze focused on some random pieces of hay that were strewn across the barn floor. She blinked a few times and swallowed hard, a dry, metallic taste lingering in her mouth. She went to speak but sighed instead.

Gathering herself for a moment she slowly raised her gaze. Turning her head to the right she studied the tall, intimidating man before looking over at the injured woman. “Wh—Uh…Why am I here?” She asked her eyes looking back at the floor before before stealing a couple quick glances at the two.

Night crossed his arms, hearing the reassurances, then the questions. The shade opened his mouth to give his answer, but with the memory of what the woman did as a beast...he shook his head and turned away. The cloak he wore dispersed into black mist, before reforming into his usual gnarly armour. Sure, Night couldn't blame the woman for what happened the other day, but he didn't feel like he could just reassure her and leave it at that.

"...you almost killed the woman over there whil-"

The man spoke and caught Belle’s attention.

Red hissed inwardly, her head jerking to Night's position with her eyes narrowed at him. Didn't he listen to anything she told him last night? About how delicate a situation like this could be? She gave Night a quick look, indicating for him to be quiet while she dealt with this in her own way before turning to look back to the woman now wearing her cloak.

"There was an accident in the village." Red started. For all Red knew, this woman had no idea she had been cursed; it was a very real thing to not remember the events that had taken place last night, and the last thing Red wanted to do was bring it to her attention in a hostile manner like the Wraith was about to do. Slowly, Red pushed herself upwards and staggered on her legs for a moment before slowly walking over to the woman and then took a seat next to her in the hay, holding her ribs on her right side to keep the broken ones from poking through her skin. "What's the last thing you can remember?" She asked softly, letting her eyes meet the other woman's.

Belle couldn’t help but look over at the woman. An accident? Belle was being forced to go into the village, by that small woman Lily. Her memories were beginning to betray her, flashes of images passed behind her eyes as she eventually watched the dark haired woman stagger towards her. It didn’t take long for Belle to realize how severely injured she was.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Night glared over at Red through the visor of his helm, before turning away, "Tell her the truth, nothing good can come from blissful ignorance, not for her. She needs to know, or she might end up harming more people in her cluelessness!" Saying all this in a harsh tone...he eventually just fell silent.

His voice caught Belle again, he seemed to grow irritated. Who were these two? She listened to his words as she looked from him to the woman. Belle’s jaw was tightly clenched as her eyes grew wide. She began to realize what had happened. Looking at the man once again Belle’s gaze soon shifted to the woman. Sadness taking over her features as she looked at the three scratches going down her face. Belle went to speak but held her words as she blinked a few times and looked away.

"IT'S NOT HER FAULT!" Red couldn't hold it in any longer. His words, though directed at the other woman's situation, couldn't have stung more; like pouring salt into a open wound.

The other woman spoke out in anger, the loudness of her voice caused Belle to jump slightly. Her gaze returned to the other woman but only for a brief second. It was as if the scars stood out even more within that moment. She swallowed hard and blinked, her gaze once again returning to the floor.

"SHE NEEDS TO KNOW SO SHE CAN LEARN TO CONTROL HERSELF...!" Pausing for a moment to calm himself, surprised at his own outburst. With a more measured voice, in both volume and tone, Night continued, "Unless you know of the remedy, or the source of this curse you can destroy...she needs to know how to control herself, to find out what triggered...'that'..."

“I do know…” Belle’s voice seemed rather quiet compared to theirs. “I know where it came from and how it happens…It cannot be controlled and to destroy it means to destroy…me.” Belle looked up briefly, meeting the gazes of both for some time before wrapping her arms around her knees and pulling them closer. She raised her head slightly, still looking at the floorboards she opened her mouth to speak but took a moment. “I—” A small pause. “All I can do is apologize…” Her amber eyes met the other woman’s light brown ones. “I’m sorry…” Her words were barely above a whisper.

Red turned her head from Night and looked back to the woman next to her, letting her eyes soften out of their narrowed, angry look she held for the 'Wraith' and frowned. She put her hand gently on the woman's shoulder, hoping to convey...somehow...that she understood what she was going through.

Belle looked at the hand on her shoulder then up at the light brown eyes of the woman, she smirked in sadness and quickly looked away with a sigh. Clenching her jaw she shook her head. Looking back up at the woman Belle couldn’t help but look at the scratches. The poor woman was permanently marked, a sight that would only hurt Belle every time she would lay eyes upon it.

"There is...no hope?" The shade stood away from them and thought long and hard on what this would mean. If she couldn't be saved, if she couldn't control this...would she be better off dead? Immediately, Night dismissed the idea...dashed it into the dark waters of his mind...only for it to bob back into his surface thoughts. This was no different from purging a corrupt creature, setting it free from torment, preventing disaster. But, right now, this woman was entirely human and could tell them what she thought and felt. And...she lasted up to this point. If she were meant to die, she would have been dead already...right?

"You don't need to apologize for anything." Red said softly, rubbing her shoulder slightly in a gesture of comfort. "You probably won't believe me, but I mean it when I say that I know what you are going through. All that matters now is that you are safe and we-" Red glanced quickly over at Night. "-I'm here to help you." She waited for a moment for those words to sink in, the same, kind words that she wished she heard from someone during her own problematic time. "I'm Red...and I'm a werewolf."

Shaking his head, Night opened up the door with the beast carved on it and left the barn to lean on the wall of it's exterior. Wasn't this no different from what some would do once a horse broke it's leg? Comfort it before putting it out of it's misery? This was one of those moments that reminded him of why he rarely involved himself with humans.

She shook her head in response to the man’s question, whether it was rhetorical or not. Her jaw was tightly clenched, her ears picking up the words of the woman but her gaze not leaving from the edge of the red cloak, her eyes tracing the intricate patterns. She was ready to tell the woman that there’s no way that she could understand or help but she stopped herself. Looking up at her in confusion she heard the man leave, her eyes quickly flicking towards the door before returning to…Red. “A werewolf? You are cursed too then?” She asked, a small, subtle smirk spreading across her lips. “I’m Belle, a…umm…Beast?” Her sentence ended in a question as she was unsure of how to classify her curse.

Red split her frowned lips into a white smile and let out a gentle, airy laugh. It wasn't at all directed towards Belle's expense, but because she knew how it felt to meet someone that was truly like you for the first time, and could imagine the relief Belle must have been feeling at that moment to be the same way she felt when she found others like her.

"Yes." Red nodded her head once and took Belle's small hands in her own and stared deep into Belle's eyes, as if there were some sort of unspoken language of understanding being transferred just by looking at one another. "I was born into the curse, hell I didn't even know I had it until just a month ago actually. My family was...pretty adamant about keeping it a secret from me."

She let Belle's hands go and thumbed at the fabric of her red cloak that Belle was wearing. "I got this when I was twelve years old. I always thought Granny was crazy when she forced me to wear it whenever 'the wolf came to town', especially when I was older and no longer a child. She told me that red repelled the wolf." She shook her head and laughed lightly once more at the memory; it had been quite some time since she had thought of home. "It's enchanted. It kept me from turning into the wolf during Wolfstime; the nights before, during, and after a full moon."

Belle listened. She was intrigued by this woman’s, Red’s story. It was unfortunate that her family hadn’t told her, unfair even. Looking down at the cloak Belle grew worried, she didn’t want to ruin it. It was obviously very important to Red.

"But I can control it now." Red said, as if reading Belle's mind. She looked upon Belle thoughtfully for a moment before making a move to stand back up. She had to use her arms to brace herself against a wooden vertical beam to keep from falling, but she eventually managed to stand up tall on her own, supporting most of her weight on her good leg.

"C'mon, let's get to the village and get you some decent clothes." Red offered with a warm smile. Belle's story would come on her own time; she wasn't about to push that.

Watching Red stand up Belle frowned. Slowly she got up as well. If Red could control her curse would Belle be able to control her own? Keeping the cloak tightly around her body Belle looked at Red once again. “I’m not sure I want to go into the village…” She knew that her village was practically the home of roses, they grew everywhere and everyone cared for their own rose bushes. Her favourite flower was now something she had feared. She clenched her jaw. “It’s the roses…” She started her sentence. “They are what causes the change. That village…my village, is known for it’s roses. All shades and colours, every type of rose imaginable can be found there.” Her gaze returned to Red. “It wouldn’t be safe. Can I stay here?” Belle asked, not that she needed permission. She would stay regardless of what Red said.

Red simply nodded, taking in the new bit of information and letting it settle over her mind. Belle's curse was triggered just like hers was, but at least Red could prepare for her transformation by watching the moon. Belle, on the other hand...it was all up in the air.

"I'll be back then." Red assured her and limped heavily to the barn door and stepped outside, immediately covered in the shadows that 'the Wraith' cast from his person. "I'm headed to the village to get Belle some clothes." She explained flatly to him and looked down at her own apparel. Maybe she would get something for herself as well, something not covered in blood. She looked back at the shadow man and simply nodded, unsure if he would take it upon himself to go with her, stay here, or hell, even leave.

"Thank you...for your help last night. I-I never got a chance to say that." She ran her fingers through her hair in a last attempt to brush out the hay and began to walk at a painfully slow pace to the village.

It didn’t take long for Regina to reach the tiny village that was the home of Belle. In fact, with magic, Regina (even in her carriage) got there in less than half the time it took Mushu to reach The Dark Castle, though the horses did help a bit.

The journey there in itself was less than uneventful, as another man rode with Regina inside the carriage in the same armor that the soldiers outside wore, though his was made of leather rather than metal for easier movement. Once Regina had gotten back inside of her carriage, she faced the man opposite of her and smiled, although the man across from her did not return the courtesy.

This didn’t bother Regina, however, and removed her black gloves finger by finger, setting the delicate fabric beside her on the seat.

“You look unhappy.” She mused, keeping her eye on the man in front of her.

“You didn’t have to kill her.” The man replied, thumbing at a short dagger he held in his lap. This caused Regina to toss back her head and laugh and only when she was finished, she still couldn’t help but to chuckle here and there.

“Oh please, spare me of your heroic conscious, Huntsman.” Regina replied, causing the Huntsman to look away from his Queen and outside the carriage window. In his reaction, Regina just smirked and folded her now bare hands in her lap.

“I thought we were going to go see Rumpelstiltskin? Where are we going now?” The Huntsman asked after a few silent moments, still keeping his eyes away from Regina.

“Rumpel is still the main concern here; however that little woman on the road gave me all I needed to ensure that he won’t be interfering in my curse. Just be grateful I didn’t have to put your life on the line to do it this time.” Her demeanor had quickly changed, her voice now cruel and cold sounding, which brought the Huntsman to finally look over at her.

“And what could that poor young woman have possibly given you to ensure that?” The Huntsman required. Regina let up a cruel smile and pulled out the golden rose hair pin.

“This.” Regina said simply, and went on before the Huntsman had a chance to question how a hair accessory was going to help. “With this enchanted hair pin, I will gain the trust of the only person that Rumpelstiltskin dares to care about. And once I have her trust, I am going to crush him with it.”

"Won't The Dark One just, I dunno, KILL YOU when he finds out your involvement?"

"That's the beautiful thing about this curse; no one will have their memories, especially Rumpel. All of this-" Regina extended her arms out, gesturing out to the whole of The Enchanted Forest. "-will be gone and we, everyone here...we will all be different people, living the lives that I decide to give them."

The Huntsman returned the dagger to the inside of his boot and folded his arms across his chest, clear that he didn’t like the methods of his Queen one bit, and looked away from his Queen once more.

“Don’t forget…” Regina said, noticing his body language. She waved her hand and a small amount of orange magic appeared in the air under the Huntsman’s chin, forcing him to turn his head and look at her once more no matter how hard he tried to resist it. “…you fail me like you did with Snow, I will kill you.”

The Huntsman, unable to look away, simply swallowed hard and nodded once. Regina seemed pleased with this and waved the orange magic wisp away, leaving the Huntsman free once more.

Regina had the carriage stop far before they had arrived at the village, giving specific instructions for the entire party to wait here for her return. Now out of the carriage, Regina took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. She extended her hands out, bending them up at the elbow and felt the magic running through her fingertips and waved her hands down. A spell had been put on the Queen, a disguise, so that anyone that might look upon her would not see Regina, but a common noblewoman. The Huntsman brought Regina a small hand mirror for Regina to look over her handy-work in and nodded, satisfied. She conjured up a basket of apples and began her walk into the village.

Not many things surprised The Evil Queen, but when she arrived in the village to see that it had already been more-or-less destroyed, this put her off her game, just a bit. She passed herself off as a simple traveler, and wormed her way into the conversation of the townspeople into learning about the fire from the night before, and the feral beast attack. Now, she knew what the beast attack entailed, but the fire…that had dark magic written all over it. But instead of try to piece that together, she continued her search for Belle.

As luck would have it, Regina was just on the outskirts of town when she noticed a woman, covered in blood and limping into the village. But what Regina found more interesting than that, was that the woman was walking away from an old barn. With a small smirk, Regina, disguised as the traveler, waited until the limping woman passed her by before heading straight for the barn. It was a good thing too, because in her lack of patience Regina was about ready to kill everyone in the village that wasn’t Belle.

(Collaboration between Major Ursa's Night, Huntress' Belle, and YoshiSkittlez's Regina and Red)

The light of day shone down upon him, and though it served to remind him of why Night was glad protection was as easy as conjuring a set of gnarly armour, it still couldn’t do anything to remove the shroud of darkness swirling and pulsing in the large area around him. At least, there were no people or animals in the general area (from lack of bird call, he knew this to be true), in case the cursed woman transformed again. Thinking about the beast that had caused such harm to a strong werewolf, he didn’t want to dwell on such an issue for too long, seeing as much of this business really didn’t/shouldn’t involve him. And so, he took some time to scrutinize a portion of his own armour...

The articulations of the gauntlets were unnatural in comparison to actual human forged metal gnarled armour, which ground noisily with each moment. They moved as deftly as his own bare hands and, like earlier indicated, having tried human armour in the past, he knew they were much much better than real gauntlets. Still, he couldn’t help but both take some time to examine the shadow gnarled armour, and appreciate it for its protection.

Regina made no hesitation in her step as she neared the barn, able to spot the man in black a ways away. At first she was tempted to scream and shout at the man, to make him return to his post back by her carriage on the road; but as she got closer she realized that he wasn't one of her men. Was there someone else out there having their men dressing the same as hers? This question put a frown on Regina's face and felt her blood beginning to boil. Everyone knew that Regina was the main threat in the Enchanted Forest...well, aside from her mentor Rumpelstiltskin, but he didn't have 'men' at his beckoning call.

Shifting the weight of the basket of apples on her hip, Regina continued forward until she was at a comfortable speaking distance between herself and the shade, and smiled a warm greeting.

"Good morning! I hear that I might find Miss Belle here, is that correct? The woman in the red cloak told me as such."

Regina wanted to vomit. She absolutely detested the sweet, innocent voice that came out of her throat. The quicker she got this over with, the better. She figured that by adding on the woman in the red cloak would grant her some sort of unspoken trust, since she had indeed seen her coming from this direction. If she was wrong...well...she always had her magic to rely on, and was really looking forward to it.

Night didn’t respond immediately, instead taking a moment to examine a particular joint of his shadow armour before lifting his head, tilting it ‘curiously’ at this person before him. A normal enough peasant woman…this was worrying. Did she not see his aura of darkness, which licked the areas around him in angry, pulsing tendrils. A thief? Abusive mother? Practitioner of dark arts?! Internally, he was practically banging his head against the wall for his crazy paranoid ideas and delusions. For all Night knew, this could be another werewolf, or a cursed individual…but such things were few and far between, and yet, just as few as some of his crazier ideas.

Leaning back against the barn, his armour articulating soundlessly with his movements and postures, he crossed his arms over his chest and queried stiffly, “What do they call you, and what is your business here…” Trailing off, he took note of the basket of apples she brought with her…huh, apples. Somehow, they seemed odd, apples and the odd tone of voice she used.

"Oh! Where are my manners? I deeply apologize sir! You may call me Cora if you would like. All with what happened last night I can't blame you for being on edge."

Why the first female name Regina could think of to go by belonged to her mother she would never know, but she didn't even so much as hesitate as the words came out of her mouth. Lying, deceiving and outright catching someone off-guard; well, she had been well learned in that department for years now.

“If you’ve brought provisions, you can leave them with me…I can bring them to the lady when she wants them.” Assuming, all she had to offer were apples. A tailor...wouldn’t be crazy, but he was highly doubtful that Red would bring a doctor, if she herself needed one much, much more.

It was then that he regretted not following Red. Two choices, stay with the cursed woman, or help Red along…which would bring him to directly mingle with the other villagers. At the time, Night wanted to avoid the other, and he was sure Red was strong. But, seeing all the other women with lesser to no injury, and she seemed in a much more dire situation. Shifting uncomfortably on his feet, and thinking of his wolfish companion more than he admittedly should, Night spoke down quietly to the woman, “…you have seen the red cloak. Tell me, was she…still holding her left side painfully? Was she having a hard time limping around…?”

"Oh yes! Such a poor girl, a shame really. I passed her by along the way and pointed her in the direction of a healer. I've seen worse though, much worse. She'll be fine provided she gets enough rest." Regina internally grit her teeth, this man's questions were trying her patience, but she continued on. "She told me I could find Belle here; you see, I'm related to her late husband and have been worried sick about her ever since the wedding. If you please, sir, I would like to speak with her...I only wish to help."

Hmmm…he had ‘carefully’ worded that. ‘Passed along’? Pointed her in the right direction? Unlikely. Night may not have been the closest to the werewolf, but he knew that for such a jarring injury, it should have been easy for any mortal to remember that Red’s injury was holding onto her right side. As well, how would a relative of Belle just happen to know to contact Red, when the two women happened to only get better acquainted just yesterday?

Wait, no, the two of them could have discussed this inside, once he had left. Who to find, what to ask for…internally, he scolded himself for not staying inside when they were having their discussions. Then part of him was telling him that this was paranoid as hell, and the rest reminded him that he shouldn’t even care. What did this matter to him? Deciding that she had just been mistaken, for now, he proceeded. Well, there was only one thing to do at present…

The armoured shade turned and opened the door ever so slightly, looking over his shoulder at the peasant woman; he spoke loud enough for Belle to hear from inside the barn, “As the woman’s relative, it will be up to her whether she will see you. She has…been afflicted by something rather unknown to any of us, and it will be up to her whether she shall risk triggering this affliction and potentially harming you.” The aura of darkness pulsed and swirled gently around him, like black, inky smoke in the air...as he waited for a response from either women present.

"You mean the curse?" Regina said knowingly, though this wasn't by accident. "Oh I know all about that dear; in fact, that's why I'm here; well, partially."

Regina moved past the shade and into the barn where she spotted Belle in the corner and greeted her with a warm smile.

"And at last we meet!" Regina adjusted the basket of apples on her hip and proceeded forward towards the woman covered in the red cloak to hide her nakedness.

Hearing the man’s voice, Belle grew curious as she had caught parts of the conversation but not truly paying much attention. When the woman stepped in Belle looked up. She seemed excited but it felt like there was much more to the woman. Her gut told her to be cautious. Belle chose to ignore the warning. She remained sitting in the same position, her body covered by Red’s cloak.

“Do I know you?” She asked eyebrow slightly rose in question.

"We haven't met officially, no, but I know you." Regina replied with a warm tone to her voice and squatted down in front of Belle, taking an apple from her basket and offering it to her.

"Gaston has told me much about you, Belle. What a treat it is to have someone as kind and beautiful as yourself in our family! I sincerely send my condolences for my nephew. A day hasn't gone by since your wedding that I haven't thought of him..." Regina feigned a small sniffle, using her deep amount of willpower to keep herself from busting out into laughter.

"Now, I can't imagine that Gaston hasn't mentioned his dear Aunt Cora to you, however I wouldn't be too surprised. The two of you only had a short time together before the wedding from what I understand; that you had been held prisoner by that monstrous beast, Rumpelstiltksin, and had only just escaped..."

The girl grew confused at the mention of Gaston’s name. Any family that had been important to Gaston, Belle knew about. She couldn’t recall any Aunt Cora’s. She clenched her jaw as she looked at the woman. The mention of Rumpelstiltskin hurt her. It hadn’t been that long but it felt like years. He wasn’t a monster, not to her. Others didn’t know him like she did. The memories started coming back, shaking her head the brunette tried to push the memories back. Blinking a few times she soon met the eyes opposite her. “I’m sorry, is there a reason you’re here? How did you find me?” She asked, that feeling in the pit of her stomach slowly returned, something warned her not to trust this woman.

Belle wasn’t one to judge so early on but something about this woman was starting to seem odd, even without her instinct telling her so.

Regina could sense the hesitation, and this caused her to begin to worry. Perhaps this...Belle deserved more credit that she had initially given her credit for, but Regina knew that once she gained Belle's trust, it would be smooth sailing from then on.

"I came here for the wedding, you see." Regina began, formulating a plausible lie in her head as she went, making sure to take into account everything she had learned from the villagers here and even Rumpelstiltskin himself during her brief visits to the Dark Castle to learn as much about Belle's situation as she could.

"I was to take you and Gaston to your Honeymoon in my carriage after the wedding, but in light of what had...happened..." She paused for a moment; a moment that could easily be passed off as 'Cora' taking a moment of silence for her departed nephew. However Regina's motive was far more sinister than that. She wanted the memories of what Belle had done to Gaston to come back, to eat away at her the same way Regina was sure it had already done a thousand or so times.

Regina took the extended apple that Belle hadn't moved to take and placed it back in the basket where she then just set the basket of apples down on the barn floor next to the brunette beauty.

"It seems that fate had something else in store for me Belle, I am here to help you."

Regina reached into the apron pocket she had adorned while taking on the false identity of a noblewoman and pulled out a golden hair pin in the shape of a rose. The gold in itself looked to be in immaculate condition, but even aside from that there was a faint, glittering glow that encompassed the hair pin entirely that made it look all the more dazzling.

"You were right to come and hide in here dear, the villagers...they don't understand what you have been put through, what has been done to you. Your own father; he's in shambles with what happened last night. I tried reasoning with him, but as far as he is concerned, the real Belle died in the forest; he just can't cope with...well, you know..." Regina paused again to let that sink in, even if it were an outright lie.

"It took some doing, but after the incident at the wedding, I managed to come up with this..." Regina held out the hair pin for Belle to take and examine.

"I'm not the greatest with enchantments, but I did what I could..."

Belle clenched her jaw once more at the mention of Gaston’s name. She looked away briefly, his screams echoing in her ears. She tightly shut her eyes and let out a shaky breath. Belle listened but her expression showed how cautious she was. She watched the woman’s hands, seeing the hair pin Belle was intrigued, its shimmer somehow drawing her in. It was a gorgeous piece of jewellery and it continued to entrance her with its shimmer. Cora’s voice was what snapped Belle out of it.

Her father? He was safe? Alive? Belle smiled lightly at the news, her memory flashing back, reminding her of what had almost happened to Maurice. She looked up at the woman then to the hair pin once again. Swallowing hard she clenched her jaw slightly. Reaching out she took hold of the jewellery, it was very light. There was a shimmer followed by a bright glow. The magic from the hair piece seemed to flow from it and through Belle’s body. A few short moments after she felt relieved. As if a big weight had been torn off her back. She was happy.

Belle’s amber eyes met Cora’s. “Is it gone? Did this take it away?” Belle asked. That’s what it felt like but she wanted to be sure. “Can I touch the roses again? Smell them?” Her voice was hopeful. If this had truly taken away her curse she would be forever grateful to this Cora, Gaston’s aunt.

"As long as you have that enchanted hair pin, my dear, you will be free of the curse. You can be yourself again!" Regina feigned a smile, pretending to be happy with the news in order to help Belle feel more comfortable, but that's all it was; a well-practiced, perfected fake smile.

"However..." Regina's smile fell. "I fear that it is no longer safe for you here Belle, at least for now. That is why I want you to return home with me; to the cottage Gaston had intended for the two of you to stay in for your Honeymoon."

She grew excited to hear the news. She didn’t have to stay away from the roses, she could be herself…the beast was gone! Belle never had an issue with keeping things safe, she wasn’t at all worried that she would lose the hair pin. It would practically always be in her hair. Slowly, although her hair was a mess she fixed it and put the hair pin on. It fit perfectly, meant for her. Her expression grew slightly worried. But as Cora’s word’s continued she wasn’t as worried. Belle didn’t really have anywhere to go, her father wouldn’t want her back after she almost killed him. What was there to lose? Nothing. She would be with someone who finally seemed to care, someone who was willing to help her, who had helped her. Taking a few moments Belle slowly nodded. “I’ll go with you Cora, I don’t have anything left here. But we cannot leave just yet. I have to wait for Red to return.”

Regina threw her arms around Belle lightly in a hug once she had agreed to go with her, a gesture that could easily be taken as happiness, relief even that Belle had agreed, and as Regina hugged Belle tightly, she couldn't help but to smile genuinely. She was going to get her revenge on Rumpelstiltskin; finally. However, the smile dropped immediately when Belle requested to wait for Red. She wanted to ask 'who the hell is red?' but stopped herself as she pulled away from Belle and looked at the red cloak she had been wearing. There was a slight boot shuffling sound behind her, reminding Regina that the man dressed in black armour was still there, thus making Regina remember the injured female she had passed on the way here.

Regina wanted to scoff. Friends, why were there always friends? She kept her composure though and nodded to Belle in understanding.

"Why don't we go and look for her? She was in pretty bad shape, I can't imagine she would have gone far..."

And then I will have you alone at last!

Regina got up from the floor and dusted off her dress, figuring she'd have her servants back home clean it even though she knew she'd never wear it again. She quickly glanced over to the man in black armour and then back to Belle.

"Your friend can stay here in case she comes back, that way we don't waste the afternoon on a wild goose chase." She offered.

Belle hugged the woman back with excitement. Watching her stand and dust herself off Belle shook her head. “I wouldn’t feel comfortable going out just yet. Red shouldn’t be long, be patient. She’ll return shortly.” Mentioning that she was wearing no clothes was something Belle was trying to avoid. Besides, she had to give Red her cloak back, she needed it.

Internally, Regina sighed; but she hadn't given up; not yet. Once more, she turned to the man in black and gave him a smile.

"Would you be so kind as to hunt our friend down for us? It would be so nice for Belle to at least say goodbye before she leaves this place..."

The shade listened in quietly, till he was surprised with the woman addressing him this time. The peasant woman wanted him to find Red, but as he was not her keeper...he eyed the red cloak covering the cursed young woman, and it was clear that she intended to make a return.

"If you have business with the red cloak, it is your duty to close it. I can come with you, but you should most certainly be there." Shuffling uneasily on his feet, "I believe you should save your farewells for when you meet up, face to face."

As if on cue, the door to the barn slowly creaked open and Red came through the threshold, using her hand to grip the door frame tightly in an effort to keep from falling over. In her other hand was a rather large bundle of clean clothes, clenched tightly to keep any of the articles from falling. It took her a bit, but eventually Red managed to get inside of the barn and shut the door behind her, lest any intruders thought of following her inside, however one had already seemed to make herself at home already.

"Uhm..."

Regina and Red made eye contact, and though Red's remained confused and surprised, Regina's narrowed.

"You know what? I can't do this anymore. I've had it up to here with your pathetic little friends." Regina said almost immediately, dropping the sweet and warm tone in her voice to match her very own, however it wasn't until Regina ran her hand downwards that the spell keeping her identity concealed did she truly have her own voice back.

It was Red's turn for her eyes to narrow. The moment Regina's cloaking spell came off; she knew they were in danger.

"RUN! IT'S THE QUEEN!" Red shouted, in an effort to warn her friends.

The werewolf girl was screaming and the peasant woman turned into...another woman? He supposed this was what happened when he travelled out of country for such a length of time, not being able to identify certain key people. Still, his reaction was great, and though there were two women he could protect...it was automatic, jumping in front of the companion he spent more time with.

"...!" Materialising a blade out of swirling shadow and pointing it at the woman, his aura spiked before forming several reaching defensive tendrils, awaiting any offensive movements. "..."

Belle stumbled backwards in shock and confusion. The Queen?! What did she want from her? Why had she been so kind to her? The brunette heavily debated on removing the hair pin and tossing it aside. For all she knew the queen could’ve made her situation worse. Possibly even cursed the beauty again. She gripped the cloak tightly as she slowly got up, Making her way around the queen Belle grew scared. Something didn’t feel right but she ignored it, it was an eerie feeling, crawling across her skin. Moving closer to the other two she stepped in front of Red and behind the man. Red was injured and the knight would probably do a better job at protecting them.

Regina aptly tossed her head back and laughed, flashing her brilliant whites. One arm extended out towards Belle while the other extended towards Red and Night. The hand which was closest to Belle began to illuminate a few shades brighter, as if a light were inside her palm and trying to get out. With a slight jerk with her hand, Regina pushed out the magic that had been building up inside her, sending a small stream of light between her hand and Belle until the light hit Belle, and then encompassing Belle's entire body.

Regina had her stuck in a statuesque pose, and no matter how much Belle tried, she was unable to move. Looking away from Belle after ensuring her magic hold on Belle had took; she glanced back over to Night and Red.

"Night...is it?" Regina asked after she had finished laughing, cocking her head to the side in curiosity as she looked the man over with genuine interest. Without even so much as waiting for a reply, Regina raised the hand that had been previously pointed towards the duo straight above her. Then, as if a crate of cannonballs had been dropped onto the roof, a hole blew out letting the bright fingers of the sun filter in, landing directly on Night and Red.

In an instant, the darkness of the barn was swapped with the endless light of day, straight from the bright blue sky. Not great, the quick change, while mildly harsh on the eyes for normal humans...greatly blinding, even with his helm hanging over his face. Letting out a hiss of discomfort, he turned his head ever so slightly away from where the light poured over.

"Oh don't look too surprised, I know who you are...what you're capable of..." Regina trailed off and smirked a knowing grin. Her eyes left Night for a moment to look past him at Red. The look on Red's face almost caused Regina to begin laughing once more, but she just smiled.

"You! You killed Snow! It was you! You took her from me!" Red screamed out at Regina, keeping the tears at bay the best she could, trying to push past Night in the process to have a go at Regina herself. This, of course, caused Regina to laugh once more.

"You stupid girl! I had as much to do with Snow White's death as I did your helpless little boyfriend's." Regina replied. "Snow chose to die, a pathetic effort to keep me from terrorizing my people. Well...it is a bit difficult to make sure I held up my end of the deal now that she's dead..." An evil smirk crossed Regina's red lips, causing Red to try to push past Night once more as she let out a hiss of anger.

"Oh that’s right! Your pathetic little boyfriend didn't choose to die did he? No, YOU convinced him to tie himself up to a tree so you could enjoy him as a midnight snack. What was his name again? Rupert? John?" Regina went on, enjoying watching the way that Red squirmed.

Blinking quite a number of times as his eyes adjusted slowly to the light, having never been great with it, he wasn’t sure about what he was hearing. In the current situation, though his eyes were adjusting and he couldn’t help but hear all this, he remained focused on the task at hand. Reaching out his free hand, he grabbed at where Red stood once she pushed passed him, trying for an arm. Somehow, his gnarled gauntlet found a wrist...and he pulled her to stand closer behind him.

No doubt, the Queen hadn’t moved. With his slightly faded tendrils of darkness surging forward and criss-crossing over where he remembered she stood, they solidified just as he took his blade and drove it forward.

Night had assumed correctly, Regina hadn't moved and watched with amusement as Red was pulled back like a dog on a leash to keep from getting harmed. Regina held out her hand, her palm facing outwards all the while keeping Belle as stiff as a board with her other hand. The shadowed sword stopped just inches from Regina's soft, unarmoured skin and her red lips split into a white grin.

"Oh, you really shouldn't have done that. And here I was, going to be nice and let you and your pet wolf off the hook..." Regina deftly shook her head no and raised her hand, forcing the sword to fly straight up until the point embedded in one of the overhead rafters.

"It won't matter what happens to you next I suppose; in fact, none of you will even remotely remember this happening by the time I unleash my curse..." Regina said, almost as if just having a pleasant conversation with her.

"No matter...can't take any chances now can we?" Regina flicked her free wrist once more, and snapped her fingers. A cloud of purple smoke completely encased both Red and Night, and with the blink of an eye the smoke cleared, and they were gone.

"Now..." Regina turned her full attention to Belle and smiled once again, so glad to have things going her way once more.

"Rumpel really was a fool to drive you away; as if I'd pass up the chance to trap him like the rat he is." Regina ran two of her fingers through the ends of Belle's hair gently, as if she were made of glass, and gave Belle a thoughtful smile, knowing full well that Belle was unable to move, let alone speak.

"Come now, we have an Imp to destroy..." Regina wiggled one of the fingers on her hand that kept Belle in her control, forcing Belle's body to do her will and walked out of the barn with Regina. They didn't stop walking until Regina came upon her carriage and handful of men she had left behind on the outskirts of town, pleased to see that a small cage-like carriage had been hooked up to the two horses that hadn't been pulling Regina's carriage, no doubt stolen from the very village she had been in not moments ago.

Belle was quickly shoved inside the cage where the door was tightly shut and locked, only then did Regina let up on the curse keeping her body bound.

"Are you going to harm her?" The Huntsman asked, coming around to stand next to Regina as she looked into the cage at Belle as if she were some sort of exotic animal on display.

"I'm going to destroy Rumpel's heart. Unfortunately for him, Belle is where he keeps it..."

Prince James shook his head lightly as he headed up the stairway that led up to the bedroom he and Captain Hawkins had purchased for the night. Just how was he going to manage to pull this one off? And how was it that he found himself at Rumpeltiltskin's mercy once again? Stopping at the top of the stairs, Prince James put his hand over his heart, taking a moment to feel it beating strong against his hand and remembered; he would do anything for Snow.

Rejuvenated by a new air of confidence, James proceeded to the door and opened it, expecting to find his new friend awake by now. But maybe, just maybe, James would be lucky enough that Hawkins would still be sleeping. If that were the case, all he really needed to do was go through his coat and take the map while Hawkins slept on.

James couldn't help but exhale in relief as he found his partner still snoring. He couldn't blame the guy, the last days events were daunting, and Hawkins had been on his journey a lot longer than he had.

He quietly moved to Hawkins' jacket that had been hanging on the back of the chair, and while continually looking over at his sleeping friend, began to go through his pockets. Guilt stuck James more than he could have imagined, but he had to keep telling himself that it was for Snow, that he wasn't really a thief, nor did he have the time to stop and explain this whole thing to Hawkins.

Finally, his fingers found the map and he pulled it out, quickly checking it over to ensure he hadn't grabbed a note or other useless piece of parchment and then folded it back up, stuffing it into his shirt corner pocket. With a nod to himself, Charming straightened up and hurried out of the hotel room, making sure to close the door very quietly behind him.

When Red opened her eyes, she found herself standing beside a village road. To her right a few carts selling fresh produce with a handful of people bouncing back and forth in between to get the best prices, and to her left a small Inn. Red turned her head left and right repeatedly, even forcing her injured body to look behind her as well. Her brows furrowed in confusion as she looked for Night and Belle, but neither of them were anywhere near her, the wolf senses had told her that long ago. But even stranger than that, no one in the town seemed to realize that a woman in clear pain had appeared out of nowhere just seconds ago. It was perhaps for the best, as Red didn't want to draw any unwanted attention to herself; but just where had The Evil Queen sent her?

Suddenly, Red's nose picked up on something; a particular smell she wasn't even sure she remembered. Spinning her head around to where the scent was coming from, she spotted Prince James jogging down the stairs of the Inn and hurried off down the street.

Red blinked...twice. Did she really just see what she thought she saw? It could have been that the salty sea air was tricking her senses into thinking she smelt him, but could it be coincidence that the man looked like him too?

Making up her mind, Red held fast to her ribcage and attempted to hurry after him, following him more on scent than sight as he was able to get out in front of her a lot easier than she could catch up. Finally, rounding a corner and into an alley between two small buildings, she caught James holding up a piece of paper and talking up towards the sky.

"I have it! I have what you want!" James called out to the sky, causing Red to quirk an eyebrow.

"Charming?" She called, breaking the assumption that James had been alone. His head snapped back down to it's normal level, his eyes growing wide in spotting his old friend. His mouth hung slightly agape, unbelieving but yet, there she was.

"Red?"

Red nodded and smiled. As much as she had dreaded meeting up with Charming again, she was even more-so glad that she had been placed with a familiar face. James briskly ran to Red, overcome with joy upon her appearance and extended his arms out to bury her into one of his famous hugs.

"What happened? After Snow...no one heard from or saw you-"

Red held up her hands with effort, keeping James from hugging her although God knew she could use one right about then, and then grabbed at her ribcage once more, sucking in a breath as a wave of pain pulsed through her.

"It's a long story...what...what were you doing?" She asked, ignoring the concerned look she was getting from her friend as he had taken notice to her injuries. He looked to the map in his hand, and then back to Red, realizing that she must have spotted him trying to summon Rumpelstiltskin. He held up his hands defensively, as if knowing what to expect from Red and her reaction to what he was about to tell her.

"Like you, it's a long story. But I've found a way to get to Snow, to bring her back."

Red couldn't help but to grin widely at the news. At this point, she didn't care how it happened, only that it did.

"Rumpelstiltskin, he's to give me a ring that will lead me straight to her, I just had to get this map for him first. Not sure why he would need it, everyone knows that only those who wield light magic can use it's powers..."

"Rumpelstiltskin? You mean The Dark One?" Red's smile faltered immediately. Maybe she wasn't as open to the idea of 'anything goes to get Snow back' after all.

"I know, I know, but I need Snow, now more than ever. Regina's taken over our castle, she's carrying my child...I won't stop at anything to get her back."

Red's smile returned, just a bit, watching the love grow in James' eyes with each and every word he spoke. She could only nod.
"Then we get Snow, and take back your castle...together."

A gust of wind suddenly picked up, forcing Red to topple into James in her weak state but he caught her gently as to not further her injuries. Purple smoke began to cloud around their feet, and the two could only look down as the smoke continued to envelop them. Red knew what was going to happen next. She was being sent away somewhere...but was this the work of The Evil Queen? Or someone else?

Collaboration between YoshiSkittlez and I

Rumpelstiltskin remained frozen in place until he felt the presense of Mushu leave his castle entirely. Only then did he walk to the opposite side of the room where a number of small pedastals showed off various objects; some appearing to be of great, magical worth, and some appearing to be junk. It was a small, chipped tea-cup that Rumpelstiltskin approached and gently took it off the pedastal, turning it in his hand as he gently looked it over. Silently, he walked over to a locked glass cabinet and placed the teacup inside and pushed it towards the back where it could be easily forgotten about, and pulled out an old, rolled up scroll in which he placed on the pedastal where the teacup had once been.

"Goodbye Belle..."

He paid the teacup no more attention as he walked back to the table, stopping to pick up the thrown apple first and set it on one of the fruit plates that Heather had laid out earlier. He had entirely forgotten that she was even still in the room with him.

Heather watched Rumpelstiltskin carefully and heard his quiet goodbye and she asked as he placed the apple back on a plate, "Belle? Who is she?"
Heather cursed herself for blurting out the question. She feared that he may decide to kill her for stopping him and asking something that might have been personal.

Rumpelstiltskin looked up from the table, slowly coming to realize that Heather had never left. He straightened his back and walked away from Heather and the table, going to the only window not covered by old curtains and rested his hands behind his back, watching the morning sun light-up the far reaches of the Enchanted Forest. He was quiet for some time, as he usually was before speaking from his heart as Heather would come to realize during her stay in his castle.

"She was a servant here, not too long ago..." He spoke softly.

Heather looked to Rumpelstiltskin, noting the connection between the silence and his answers. She was slightly disappointed that he didn't answer in more detail. There was clearly more to this Belle than her just being a previous servant.

Rumpeltilstskin turned from the window to face Heather, uncomfortable in the silence. The gentle light reflected off his golden-flecked skin in a peculiar way, almost as if it the sun itself were trying to illuminate the person beyond the monster inside of him.

"You're not the first to clean my castle dearie, not in the slightest."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the last comment, she had already figured that she wasn't the first person to work in his castle. She commented logically,

"Ah, but this Belle seems much more important to you than just a mere servant. If that wasn't the case, then why try to push her away and try very hard to forget about her?"

"She was important, yes." He said quietly, turning his head to look back out the window for a moment. At first it seemed that he was going to ignore her later remark, however he did eventually speak again, though this time back to his child-like-self in the way he spoke, mocking his very own words as if the entire thing were a joke to him.

"There once was a monster that kidnapped a young woman. She cooked and cleaned and did everything he asked. Over the months, the monster FOOLISHLY mistook her company for love and had to cut his losses before he lost himself." He said theatrically. Again, Rumpelstiltskin turned to face Heather, though this time he walked away from the window and towards the table where she was. "Why the sudden interest?" He asked, his cold eyes narrowing slightly; not in anger, but in curiosity, causing Heather to raise her eyebrows at his question.

She shrugged answering him,
"Curiosity. The human mind is one of the things I researched before I came here,"
She could see, from how he spoke about Baelfire and Belle, that Rumpelstiltskin had a good side, just like everyone else, despite the dark side that he flaunted.

"Ah, yes..." Rumpelstiltskin straightened up once more and gestured flamboyantly towards Heather's head. "I can see from the way your head swells at the top that you are quite the researcher!" He giggled at his own remark, allowing her to take that in whatever way she wished.

Heather narrowed her gaze at Rumpelstiltskin to show that she wasn't amused when he made his comment about her head. She knew that he wasn't being serious about her head size.

"However!" Rumpelstiltskin held up a finger. "Books can only get you so far..." He held out his hand and a swirl of purple smoke appeared, disappearing to show that in his hand was the spell book that he had given her just the night before which she had kept in her room. And as if to prove his previous statement, he tossed it behind him without a care in the world. "Chapter One: Get angry. That one you passed with flying colors dearie! And so on we go!"

Heather crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for him to get to the point.

Rumpelstiltskin had turned the somewhat revealing conversation about himself into a magic lesson with the blink of an eye. He waved his hand just as he did before he summoned the spell book in an effort to show her what it was that he did before the book had appeared in his hand, indicating that he wanted her to do the same thing, and summon the spell book that was now a couple feet away from her on the floor to her hand directly.

She watched his gestures carefully, and knew what he wanted her to do. She sighed through her nose, calling upon her anger again, and recalling what she read last night. She mimicked his gesture, and the spell book appeared in her hand, in a cloud of blue smoke.

Rumpelstiltskin observed Heather with a straight face, however his body language let on that he wasn't unhappy with her progress. He stared at the book in her hand, expecting...something to transpire. Perhaps for it to dematerialize or catch on fire...but when the book remained solid and unwavering, Rumpelstiltskin cracked a smile.

Heather didn't expect the book to remain in one piece. She honestly thought she wasn't going to succeed the first time, and yet, it seemed that she had managed to perform the spell perfectly.

"It seems that you have more magical aptitude than I initially gave you credit for dearie." He said making the book disappear out of her hand and into his own. He flipped the book open and turned a few pages, insuring that everything was still in order. After the book passed it's 'test' he waved his hand and the book was gone, back in the bedroom Heather had slept in the night before.

"Enlighten me...how is a woman of your particular upbringing so well practiced in dark magic?" He asked, genuine curiosity playing into his amused, child-like voice. "A day ago you didn't even know what magic was! And yet, here you are continuing to impress me. THAT doesn't happen very often!"

She shrugged at his question to show that his guess was as good as hers. She commented, "I can only hypothesize that it may have to do with my being an academic prodigy back in London. And I'd like to think that studying beforehand helps,"

"WRONG!" Rumpelstiltskin said immediately, holding up a single finger and causing Heather to jump slightly. "What is it with you book people? Always...'thinking!'" He said gesturing wildly with his arms and grimacing, as if it were a bad thing. "As I said, magic comes from emotion! There is no..."thinking" involved." He rested himself back so that he was halfly sitting on the edge of the table and held his hands in his lap loosly. "You have a dark anger; that memory you hold...it must be quite powerful..." He went on, his voice calming down a bit but letting on that he wished for her to share her memory with him. He had only caught onto bits of it from last night.

She narrowed her gaze at him when he complained about how people think. She wondered if Rumpelstiltskin knew what happened to people who don't think. She retorted after he made his comments about her memory, sensing that he wanted her to share,

"It's not that powerful...After all, Frankenstein isn't worth anything," She muttered the last part under her breath. Despite her anger towards Frankenstein, she knew very well, that this wasn't her darkest memory. Her darkest memory, she believed, were the ones buried under the false memories her younger subconscious imagined.

Rumpelstiltskin couldn't help but to raise his eyebrow at the mention of a name. He cocked his head to the side in a curious manner and cupped his hand around his ear. "That name...what was it again?" He asked, goading her to tell him once more with his other hand.

Heather quirked an eyebrow when he asked about the name, and she uttered it out, like just saying his name would poison her, "Frankenstein. Dr. Victor Frankenstein,"
Did this imp know the scientist? Why was he so interested in the name she had mentioned.

Rumpelstiltskin practically bounced off of the table as he belted out a sudden, and very short "HA!" He brought his hands together and clapped them together in his excitement, now sitting fully on the table and swung his legs back and forth like a toddler with a secret. Finally, though, he managed to calm down.

"Would this be the same man who made it his entire life's work to raise the dead?" He queried, though his voice let on instantly that he already knew the answer.

When he asked, she could tell there was clearly more going on when it came to Frankenstein and Rumpelstiltskin. She answered,

"Yes. That's him," She silently complained about how the Board thought that his research about raising the dead was much more important than research into the human mind.

Rumpelstiltskin let his head fall slightly and let out a laugh; not a childish giggle like usual, but a normal, human-like laugh. He raised his head up once again, his brown hair somewhat messily splayed infront of his eyes as he looked at her with an amused grin.

"When you have a hand in everyone's lives, irony is everywhere." He said more to himself than to Heather, but then went on. "He was here, you know. In The Enchanted Forest..."

Heather blinked at his comment and she let out a flat toned "What?" in response. Her seething anger towards Frankenstein was starting to come to the front of her mind.

Rumpelstiltskin hopped off the table and gestured around the general area with a wide sweep of his arm, generally ignoring her outburst. "In this very room, in fact..." He took a couple steps back from Heather but brought his attention back to her. "Is he the one who told you about me? I can't imagine why he'd do that, after all...the heart he came here for didn't exactly work-" He went on, trailing off as he began to talk to himself.

She answered him, stopping him before he could trail off and ignore her completely, "He wasn't the one who told me about you. I read about you in a book. Now, Frankenstein came here...for a heart?"

"That IS correct!" Rumpelstiltskin replied jovially. "He needed a heart, and...let's be honest dearie, the hearts that come from your world are weak. TOO weak, in fact, to be able to sustain the work of your Doctor Fr-r-r-r-rankenstein! His work was limited to that of his very own world, and so, I offered him a way. He came here for a heart, a heart that held magical properties, a heart that was strong and could withstand his experimentations..." Rumpelstiltskin stopped to sneer lightly. "Well...we both know how that turned out..."

As Rumpelstiltskin spoke, and Heather thought more and more about Frankenstein's experiment and its results, her anger grew. She sneered in return after he made his last statement, "His experiment was a failure, and yet his...work was considered more important than mine was," She clenched her fists tighter and tighter, as though she was going to draw blood from her palms, and the lights of the castle started to flicker on and off again as she seethed in silence.

Rumpelstiltskin began to circle her, though he knew that she wouldn't be paying him much attention anymore, not when he had raised her anger to nearly the right amount of anger he wanted her at. Finally, now behind her, Rumpelstiltskin delicately placed his hands on each of her shoulders and bent his head forward to whisper into her ear.

"Keep going..."

Heather continued, ignoring the fact that Rumpelstiltskin was now behind her and his hands were on her shoulders, her clenched fists were now shaking in rage and her voice raising itself until she was shouting angrily, "And yet, he had the gall, the GALL, to present that farce of an experiment! But that's not enough for him! NO! He rubs it in my face and mocks me, telling me that women have no place in the science and medical fields! That...That FRAUD!"

As Heather ranted, her body went through the subtle changes once again, until she had Evelyn Hyde's appearance once again, "Evelyn Hyde came to be through science alone! No magic was required, WHAT! SO! EVER!!!"

After that shout, Heather's conscious was pushed back, and Evelyn took over once again. Evelyn looked at Rumpelstiltskin, as Heather's blue eyes turned to almost black again, and she looked somewhat bored. As she looked at her nails, she commented "You know magic isn't the only result from anger. I thought you already knew that,"

"I did." Rumpelstiltskin then grinned and stepped away from Evelyn, walking the semi-circle until he was facing her instead of being behind her, though kept a fair distance of three or so feet between the two of them.

"I'm glad you decided to come out and chat; I have a few...questions." He let his fingers dance around in the air a bit, grinning all the while indicating that he was rather eager to get started.

"Dr. Jekyll created you from contents within a bottle..." His hand shot forward and plucked a single hair from Evelyn and brought it before his face, holding it up to the light to examine the single strand of hair better. "...why?" He then ended his sentence, the last word stabbing and demanding sounding.

Evelyn looked up from her nails to see Rumpelstiltskin as he walked back into her line of sight. She noticed that he kept a fair distance away from her, but he still had that grin on his face. She raised an eyebrow when he started asked his question. She looked bored and disinterested as she rolled her eyes, and retorted "Testy, aren't we? And you're asking me to explain the boring motivations of the boring Doctor, when she could've rambled on about it to you herself,"

Rumpelstiltskin seemed to not be listening as he walked over to the cabinet and opened up the door, pulling out what looked like an empty bottle and let the hair drop down inside of it.

She smirked and answered, as she walked past him, "I'm an unforeseen consequence from Jekyll's experiment. She tried to create a concoction that would allow people to live without human-based evils, such as murder. She thought splitting the mind, psychologically speaking, would do the trick. And voila! Here I am! A new and improved version of Dr. Jekyll! Existing as my own person through the Doctor's body,"

She stopped and faced Rumpelstiltskin after she passed him, and she answered "So, to shorten that lengthy explanation, she wanted to help people. That's why she created me. Ironic isn't it?"

"Just a bit." Rumpelstiltskin mused with her in agreement, and promptly capped the glass vial with a cork before stowing it away, back into the cupboard from where it came, his eyes darting just for a minute onto the chipped teacup now stashed in the back.

"I have what I needed, you may...uh, change back if you like..." He said, using his hands to 'shoo' away Evelyn as he spoke. "Or stay, it really doesn't matter." He crossed to the opposite side of the room and pulled down the canvas that had been previously covering a mirror, and for a moment, he couldn't take his eyes off his reflection. Forcing himself out of his deep thoughts, he waved his hand over the mirror and the glass began to shift, rippling like a clear river with a small pebble dropped into it. The image of Rumpelstiltskin's reflection changed, and instead turned into an image of two people in an alley in some unknown city, miles away.

Evelyn carefully watched Rumpelstiltskin as he stored a strand of Evelyn's hair into a glass vial. She was going to let Heather take control again because she was bored, but when Rumpel said that it didn't matter and started doing something with the mirror, she stayed and watched Rumpelstiltskin.

"I know, I know, but I need Snow, now more than ever. Regina's taken over our castle, she's carrying my child...I won't stop at anything to get her back." The male said to the female, obviously completely unaware that they were being watched.

"Then we get Snow, and take back your castle...together." The female replied to the male with a reassuring smile. It was quite plain that the female was badly injured, and could of done with some immediate tending to. This caused Rumpelstiltskin to roll his eyes.

"Well I wasn't expecting two!" He practically hissed. "However, she just might come in handy..." He waved his hand and through the mirror, a cloud of purple smoke began to form underneath the duo's feet. The female fell into the male, and Rumpelstiltskin watched with little-to-no-interest as the smoke engulfed them. When the smoke had cleared, they were gone, only to appear just seconds later in the middle of the dining room between himself and Evelyn Hyde.