Ignorance is Bliss | By : Khaleesi-Of-Dragons Category: M through R > Once Upon A Time Views: 2313 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story. Any and all songs used belong to their respective owners. |
When Rumple arrives inside Maleficent's castle, he found the three women he was looking for bickering amongst themselves. He shifts the two year old in his arms, the child beginning to get a little chunky compared to how light she was just last year. The three women, Cruella, Ursula, and Maleficent herself, were just the people he needed to get the Dark Curse. "Now, now, ladies," he chides with a smile, gaining the trio's attention," don't tear each other apart." Maleficent could do just that if she wanted to, but Cruella just might be able to tame her in her dragon form. "I need you all in one piece—or rather, three pieces." He takes a few steps forward towards the women, Aveena wrapped securely in a red cloak that matched his own perfectly.
"Rumpelstiltskin, it was you," Maleficent says with a slight frown.
"Guilty." He gives a mocking bow, his magic holding the baby in the air.
"Someone wanna tell me why I left the sea for this," Ursula inquires, her hands on her hips as she looks Rumple over. Sure, the sea witch is powerful, but she had no hope in hurting Rumple and so he wasn't worried. Aveena, on the other hand, would be placed inside a ball of magic, a transparent thing that protected her from any magic besides his own.
"Oh yes, the reason for this little tête-à-tête-à-tête...à-tête—we all have something in common, apart from mutual distaste." He strolls at a languid pace, stopping when he's in the center of the womens' little half-circle. "We're villains. And it's time the villains got their happy endings."
Storybrooke
I sit across from Whale at the outside cafe on Broadway, sipping on an ice-cold pop and listening to him describe the operation he'd had to perform the day before. This has become a ritual for us these past six weeks, meeting for lunch and making a point not to discuss magical bullshit that pops up in our town. "...Blood was all over my arms," he finishes around a bite of his sandwich," it was disgustingly amazing."
"Sounds like it," I smile, poking at my salad with my fork. "So, I've been thinking about the offer you made at my birthday party—the one about me shadowing you at the hospital. Is that still open or have you found a new sidekick?"
"Of course it is, I just didn't think you were interested in the medical field."
"I'm not, but the theater is shut down until Micah and Nicky get back from their second honeymoon and I'm bored." The blonde shrugs a shoulder with a nod and a lazy smile, leaning in his chair and looking around us. It's more crowded than usual, the school reopening now that it's been completely repaired, so kids are having a hard time getting back on schedule. Several of the high school kids are in line to buy coffee even if they have to throw it away before classes start for the day. It's kind of cold outside, but I've managed to adjust my magic so that I'm always comfortable no matter the weather—my short shorts and tank top can attest to that. "I think I'm gonna start dating again."
"What, seriously?" He gives me a nonplussed expression, his eyebrows raised.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It's just... You don't exactly have a great track record where boyfriends are concerned. I mean, your first one abused you for years and your second one killed the first one and then used one of your best friends in order to gain more power and take over the world."
"Yes, well, the next guy I date won't have an ounce of magic in his body." I sigh, curling my feet underneath me and sitting up a little straighter in the hard chair. "I just want someone normal that likes to hide out while all the crazy shit is happening. Maybe he could have a panic room in his basement."
"Honey, if the guy tries to get you to go down in his basement, you say no and run." I toss a crouton at him with a laugh that he returns. "Seriously, I mean, there are some weirdos out there."
"Yeah, and I'd say you're included in those weirdos, Victor."
"Well thanks for that, Morgan, it fills me with joy to know that's how you think of me." He covers his heart with a hand, giving a fake sniffle and looking away dramatically. "It just gets me right here, ya know?"
"You're such a dork." Whale's phone begins to beep, signaling the end of his lunch break. He gives me an apologetic look, standing as we pile our trash on the tray between us, Whale taking one last huge bite out of his sandwich before giving it up to the trash gods. "Okay, so I'll see you tomorrow, then?"
"Yeah." We walk to the trash can together, disposing of our lunch and the tray before hugging. "Hey, uh, I know you've had it rough for a while. Depression isn't easy, it kind of comes and goes, but you'll get through this alright?" I don't say anything, my happy smile beginning to fade. "I know you have ways to contact Gold, I want you to talk to him at least once a day if it's possible."
"Why? No one else wants me to."
"Yeah, well, everyone else needs to pull their heads out of their asses. He may have been a pretty shitty human being, but he raised you and he tried to do right by you. You seem happier on the days you've talked to him, so I'm prescribing an hour long conversation with him everyday."
"Archie got to you, didn't he?"
"A little bit," Whale nods with a laugh, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as we walk through the bustling town. "How's your sessions with him going?"
"Pretty good, I guess—he has me taking out my anger on a punching bag."
"That's always fun."
"Yeah, well, I have to go. Regina wants me to substitute for one of the teachers that called in sick at the last minute. I get to teach..." I look down at my hand, squinting a little to make out the smudged writing. "Uh, drama class."
"Good luck with that, Mo."
"Good luck with your saving people. I hope you get another awesomely gruesome one soon enough."
"Did you give Belle my email address," Papa asks, the water in the bowl rippling slightly and distorting his image. This kind of communication is hard to maintain, but it's the only other way for me to talk to him without one of the good guys figuring it out. The last time I used this was when I was stuck in my own head fighting an evil me and now I have to do it in order to have a decent conversation. The process of calling him was relatively simple, I filled a bowl with water, spilled a few drops of my blood, and then concentrated on his face until his reflection appeared, though the only reason my blood worked is because we're both related to Neal and share his blood.
"Yep," I nod," I told her you were an Oxford linguistics professor, specialized in dead languages. I also told her that the spell to release the fairies was Latin."
"You're getting better at lying." He didn't seem to be happy about that, his brown eyes sad and his face worn. "Perhaps you should take a break from your game of spies and go see Henry or Micah."
"Micah and Nicky are on their second honeymoon and I'm not really up to seeing my nephew just yet. I have been talking to Whale and Archie, though."
"Ah, well, maybe stay away from the good doctor, huh?" I roll my eyes, knowing he thought of Whale as the type of man to take advantage of women whenever he could, but Whale didn't see me as anything other than his sidekick—the kid he's patched up so many times it's unreal and a sarcastic asshole at the best of times. I hear a faint dinging in the background followed by Ursula's tired voice.
"That means it's ready," she informs Papa, not appearing in my line of sight since I wasn't focused on her.
"Yes, I know how to work a microwave, thank you." Papa sounds tired, too, though I'm sure it's mainly because he has to do things by hand instead of relying on his magic.
"Because the Dark One did so much cooking in his time."
"Don't be a bitch," I tell the sea witch, grabbing the bowl and moving to sit on the couch," he did all the cooking before the curse was broken." Granted, that just meant heating up take-out most nights, but he still knew his way around the microwave and oven. "I have to go, Papa, my session with Archie is in ten minutes and I need to recharge my batteries before I start hacking away at the punching bag."
"Alright, little bird, I'll talk to you tomorrow. I love you."
"Love you too, Papa." And then the connection was severed and I was left staring at my reflection. My eyes are duller than they used to be, the bright happiness almost gone from them, and the dark bags under my eyes didn't exactly help to liven them up.
"Who were you talking to," Dad asks as he walks inside, dropping his keys on the coffee table as I stand up with the bowl in my hands.
"No one, Daddy."
"You're lying." I don't give him any sort of response, my forgiveness not entirely given after he made a choice for me at the town line. He forced me to stay in this stupid town, Papa was going to force me to watch him kill my dad, Regina's forcing me to take therapy—when do I get to make a harder choice than what color to paint my living room? "Vee, wait." I keep walking, dumping the water out in the sink and setting the bowl in the drying rack before grabbing my purse and walking outside. I can't deal with him right now, not when my anger is beginning to build. "You can't run forever, Aveena," Killian calls after me as I exit my apartment," we're going to have to talk."
"Why don't you go talk to someone that doesn't want to punch you in the face?!" My words make him wince, his head lowering an inch or two as his usual confidence falters. "When I'm ready to talk, I'll find you, but butting into my life every five seconds isn't winning you any brownie points right now. Just leave me alone."
Dark Castle
The chairs that Maleficent provides are less than comfortable, but they'll do for this quick meeting, Rumple preferring the chairs he has at his own castle. "Now then," Cruella starts," this happy ending shenanigan you're promising us, can you really do that?" Rumple could care less about their happy endings, it was his own he wanted to secure. He would be reunited with his son and perhaps he could raise Aveena more normally after that, let her age like any other child. "Are you really that powerful?" Aveena toddles over to Cruella, one of her pudgy little hands coming up to touch the dog that Cruella brought with her. The woman gives a gasp as Aveena comes close to her, gray eyes widening a fraction as she feels the tiniest bits of her magic being absorbed into the child.
"Yeah, he's powerful," Maleficent states, drawing attention away from Aveena before Cruella could say anything about her strange ability," but not that powerful."
"No one is," Ursula adds.
"Love how you underestimate me," Rumple smiles, unworried since the three women combined could do nothing to harm him," adorable."
"What exactly are you offering, short stuff," Cruella inquires with vague interest. That does make Rumple prickle slightly, knowing he wasn't the tallest person in the room, but he was more powerful than Cruella, so she had better watch her tongue before he ripped it out.
"Only the answer to all your prayers."
"I'm not exactly the religious sort." Of course she's not, no one in this room is. He gives a mock gasp, Aveena giggling as she toddles her way back over to him and climbs up in his lap, the dark hair on her head tickling his nose.
"Shocked." In a burst of anger, Cruella rises from her seat and marches over to him, leaning over and trying her best to intimidate, but not even Aveena is scared of the skinny woman.
"Look, I was quite content with my life until I received this summons, and I do not appreciate being dragged around on false promises."
"Nothing false about it, Dearie." Rumple stands as well, Aveena laughing as she reaches out a hand the tug on some of Cruella's multi-colored hair. More of the woman's magic is drained away, her eyes narrowing as she glares down at the toddler. Rumple sends out a pulse of magic, a warning to Cruella that if she tried to hurt a hair on his daughter's head, that she would be punished in a way so severe that no one else would ever dare to think about harming the child. "I know exactly what you want, and you, and you." He points to the other two women in turn, the same small smirk still playing on his lips.
"Really," Maleficent asks disbelievingly.
"Really. But don't worry, I'm not one to betray trusts, so your secrets can remain your own. What I will share is what we all have in common—a desire for happiness. A desire to do what villains can never do. To win. and I'm here to show you how, together."
"Even if we would work together, no spell known to man or woman can do what you're saying."
"Of course not, Dearie." He sets Aveena down in the chair he had vacated, using his magic to shield her from any possible attack that may occur before moving closer to Maleficent. "But we're not looking for a spell. We're looking for a curse—a Dark Curse. One that, if you help procure it..." He walks around the circle, making sure to look each of the women in the eye in order to see if they'll fall for his bait. "...Can get each and every one of you exactly what you want—your..." He points to Cruella. "Happy..." And now to Ursula. "Ending." And finally to Maleficent, to the one that would be the hardest to catch. He would use them to get the Curse, and then he and Aveena would go to the world without magic, waiting there for twenty-eight years until it's time to find his son.
Pan
Pan, disguised as Mordred, watches as a great black thing flies overhead, his green eyes narrowing slightly as he recalls where he's seen its image before. It's the creature from the Bald Mountain, the one who was supposed to guard the Dark Curse and completely failed its task. It would cause trouble for Storybrooke, going after each and every person that had the highest capability of evil until none were left but the purest sorts. But who had released it from its prison? Pan shakes his head, not wanting to delve too deeply into it, continuing to walk down the street until he was standing across the street from Archibald Hopper's office—arriving just in time to see his target walking out, most of her dark brown hair hanging loose while part of it was braided. A surge of lust ran through him, his senses picking up her strange magic and longing to entwine with it. Morgan looks over at him, sensing his gaze on her, and gives a dark scowl, walking quickly back towards the center of town.
Of course she would hate Mordred, it was partially his fault that Vincent had pounced on her. Pan found himself wondering how she would react upon seeing him again, if she would leap into his arms and proclaim how much she had missed him and how sorry she was that she sent him away or if she would try to kill him. An interesting scenario either way, one he was anxious to move on to, but first he had to bide his time and wait for the newest problem in Storybrooke to be taken care of. He needs a child, and Morgan will be the woman to give him one—their magic combined in their son would make him unstoppable, but first Pan must wait for Morgan's body to mature into an age where childbearing has a greater chance of ending with mother and child alive. His eyes, still on her retreating back, move from top to toes, really enjoying how good her legs look while she wears high heels.
Dark Castle
"The Curse resides here," Rumple explains as he leads the way through the carved halls," Bald Mountain. It's protected by a variety of lethal magic obstacles—obstacles that suit your very specific talents." They come to a stop in front of a tall door, the bugs crawling across the surface failing to catch Aveena's eye and she would have walked right into the door and the scarabs if Rumple hadn't grabbed the back of her cloak and yanked her back. "Blood Scarabs." Aveena's blue eyes go wide, her bottom lip beginning to quiver as she grasps his leg with both arms and her legs, leaving Rumple to support her. This isn't the first time she's done this, he would often find himself walking through his palace with Aveena clinging to his leg. "The only thing stronger than their venom is their bloodlust. Cruella, I believe with your powers of persuasion they'll be as harmless as puppy dogs."
The insane woman steps forward, kneeling down and allowing a scarab to climb onto her gloved hand. "I have a little job for you, Darling," he hears her whisper before she exhales a faint green vapor that envelopes the bug, making it glow for a brief moment. "Now run along and tell the others." The beetle scuttles away back to the others covering the door, not even a second passing before all of the beetles take up positions on the wall and away from the door, every one of them glowing the same green as the first. "That's how it's done, Darlings." Rumple walks past her and through the now open doors, paying her no mind even when his daughter sticks her tongue out at the other woman. The room they enter next is cavernous, the centerpiece being the pedestal of stone that held a tiny scroll of parchment encased in a glass orb, fire burning on the stone in front of the pedestal to deter normal visitors. "The Dark Curse." He looks on at the scene for a moment, excitement coursing through his veins. "Fire forged from the breath of dragons." He tosses his torch into the flames, having no need of it. "Maleficent, I believe this is your area of expertise."
He steps aside, allowing the depressed woman to stand in the front, the red in her otherwise dark gown glittering in the light the fire makes. She raises her hands, getting the fire under her control, the flames forming a serpent that disappears into the mouth of the dragon ornament on her staff. Without the fire, the cavern suddenly grew cold and dark, Rumple feeling Aveena begin to shiver despite her winter cloak. Maleficent turns with a smile and a piece of foolish advice. "Next time, maybe try something challenging," she states, Rumple making a note to procure a thicker coat for his daughter as Maleficent rejoins the group.
"And now, Ursula. If you don't mind." The sea witch takes a couple of steps forward, using one of her tentacles to grasp the orb from its perch and drop it carelessly into Rumple's outstretched hand.
"This what you're looking for," she asks arrogantly.
"Indeed." He walks towards the doors as the cavern begins to shake, pieces from the ceiling falling to the ground. All of the women begin to panic, looking around in alarm for whatever could be causing the small earthquake and questioning Rumple on what was going on. "My daughter and I are leaving with my prize. And you?" He pauses to take in the incredulous expressions of the trio, his happiness doubling as he says the next words. "You're about to die." A simple hand up has the three women stopping their advance on him, each of them knowing how powerful he is. "I forgot to mention there's one more thing guarding the Curse. The Chernabog—an ancient demon that feeds on evil. It seeks out the heart with the greatest potential for darkness and devours it. That's why I really needed you three. Adieu." With a giggle, he uses his magic to open the doors, stepping through them before slamming them shut again and sealing the three women and hell-beast inside.
He couldn't have the Chernabog breaking out and coming after him instead because he had a feeling that it would seek out Aveena as well.
Morgan
"What do you want, Mordred," I ask without looking up from my cup of coffee, not in the mood for his shit after my last session with Archie. "And by the way, I don't appreciate you trying to insert yourself into my life." When Mordred doesn't say anything, I glance up and find Whale sitting across from me with his eyebrows furrowed. "Oh, sorry, I thought you were someone else."
"Has Mordred been bothering you again," he asks, blue eyes showing how worried he is.
"It's nothing I can't handle. He's not as strong as he likes to think he is." Whale opens his mouth to respond to that, but a loud shrieking and the ground rumbling cuts him off, the sudden movement of the earth making me dive under the table and curl up in a ball. When it subsides, I peak out from my hiding place, my breathing beginning to slow as I realize it wasn't an earthquake that caused the rumbling. "What the actual fuck was that?"
"I don't know," Whale says, standing and helping me up," but I think we should go find that panic room in the basement you talked about."
"Whatever you say, Doc." I hold onto his hand tightly as he leads me out the back way, the both of us running to the theater since it had a tornado shelter in one of the backrooms. I stop abruptly when I spot a living gargoyle perched on the clock tower, its red eyes moving over the town and resting on me briefly before moving on again. A shiver of fear races down my spine and my eyes widen as I realize I've heard its menacing snarl before. The memory is a hazy one, filled with fear and scarabs, but it was enough for me to realize that this guy isn't the type of gargoyle to fight crime. "We have to go right now," I gasp, beginning to run again and forcing Whale out of his horrified daze. "That thing eats evil for breakfast—quite literally—and I don't want to stand around and see if it decides if I'm leaning more towards evil instead of neutral!"
I hit the doors at a sprint, expecting them to open as they usually did, but instead I'm sent backwards into Whale, both of us hitting the ground hard. "What the hell?"
"They're locked." I get back to my feet, trying to tune out the panicked screams of townspeople as I focus on which key is supposed to unlock the doors. "Come on, come on, come on! Which one is it, I can't remember." Whale looks over my shoulder, making a face before he just nudges me out of the way and rams the doors, the wood giving under his shoulder after a few tries and falling open as Whale falls to the ground inside. "Come on, we don't have all day." I help him back up and lead the way to the back of the theater to the rooms where extras get ready in, moving an area rug and opening the door that was hidden underneath. The hinges creak as they're used for the first time in years, but with Whale's help, it's fairly easy to open the heavy thing.
"You go first." I use my magic to create an orb of light, following it down the stairs with Whale following behind me. The room the stairs lead to is protected by magic, Micah's beginning to come back now that he's regained his memories. There are several couches spread around with rugs covering the floors and walls to keep the cold of old stone at bay, though there is no electricity, so we'll have to use my magic as a light source.
"I hope Micah will be okay." I don't have to worry about Nicky, he's probably the nicest person in this town.
"You said this thing eats evil, I don't think it'll be going after Micah any time soon."
"Yeah well, he wasn't exactly the type to sing with woodland creatures in the other world." Whale closes his eyes, dropping down on a coach and heaving a long sigh.
"Who was he, Morgan?"
"A really powerful Necromancer that resided over a kingdom East of the Enchanted Forest, had his own citadel and zombie guards. He went by Lord Mozenrath there and Nicky was the Sultan in Agrabah."
"Aladdin... I've heard about him."
I look up as the door to the shop opens, finding two women I had hoped never to see again—Cruella and the sea witch looking around the store as if they had a right to be in here. "What the hell are you two doing here," I snarl, coming out from behind the counter to face them without anything between us. Cruella looks unimpressed, her cold gaze landing on me as a frown mars her otherwise pretty face.
"The Dark One's daughter," she sneers, saying the words like they were poison on her tongue," all grown up, aren't you, Darling?"
"Mm, you've aged too, Cruella. I think you have more white in your hair since the last time I saw you."
"You little-!" She lunges at me, wrapping her thin fingers around my neck and beginning to squeeze while Ursula looks on in disinterest.
"You know," the sea bitch states as I go along with the strangulation, letting the pair feel like they were in charge until I find out their motives. "We were just wondering whether or not to let your darling papa into the town, but I rather like the idea of abandoning him at the town line and killing you. A sort of revenge for leaving us to face the Chernabog all those years ago." I claw at Cruella's wrists, tugging as I use my magic to make my face turn a faint shade of red and then a dark purple. "That sound good to you, Cruella?"
"It sounds wonderful." Good enough, time to stop playing. With a smile, my face returns to its normal complexion, my magic blowing the two hags backwards and pinning them against the wall.
"You know what sounds good to me," I ask, standing and brushing dirt off my shorts," I think you two are going to come to the town line with me and retrieve my papa and carry out whatever plan he has. Of course, I could kill the both of you and it wouldn't effect me in any way, I could turn you both into a matching pair of heels and give them to my step-mother as an early birthday gift and only I will know about it. My point to all this being that the two of you are nothing compared to me. I can sap all the magic in your bodies fairly quickly and leave you both as normal people. Now, would you whether help Papa or would you rather be known as a pair of Burberry designer pumps?"
"Help...Dark One," Ursula gasps out when I loosen my magic enough to allow them to draw breaths.
"I thought you'd see things my way." With a giggle, I let the pair go and watch as they re-catch their breath before using my magic to nudge them towards the door. "Let's go, you two, it's getting late and I have a movie marathon I want to watch."
It's completely dark when we reach the town line, Cruella beginning to shiver even with the heavy fur coat she has on. I make the two women lead the way to our destination, my breath catching in my throat when I see Papa in person for the first time in six weeks. I grab the scroll from Ursula's hand, walking to the very edge of the town line, the toes of my my heels stopping at the edge of the bright orange spray paint. With shaking hands, I let my hand move through the barrier, holding out the scroll for Papa to take. He turns when he hears the faint whoosh of magic, hurrying back to the edge of the line and taking the scroll, giving my hand a squeeze when he recognizes the Stitch tattoo on my wrist. "Little bird," he whispers, unrolling the scroll and looking back up, now able to see the town again. The second he crosses the line, his limp vanishes and his cane is thrown away, his arms closing around me in a tight hug.
"I've missed you," I mumble against his shoulder before pulling back to face the women with him. "Let's get started." He grins, placing an hand on the small of my back to get me walking, the two of us sandwiched between Team Rocket.
"It's a simple plan, really. Continue to repent your wicked ways, make friends, build relationships."
"And just what will you be doing," Cruella asks, her eyes lowering slightly when I send a glare in her direction. "That is, if it's alright to inquire." The smirk on Papa's lips is enough to make me feel proud of myself, an extra bounce in my step now that I have Papa's approval.
"I'll continue my work behind the scenes, of course."
"Sounds like we're doing everything," Ursula scowls," again." Papa comes to a stop, making everyone else do the same.
"How do you think we got in here? And how do you think that Chernabog was released? It was me and my daughter. I'm the Oxford professor who translated the spell for Belle and Morgan is the one that gave the email address to her, the spell that released the fairies and also happened to unleash that monstrosity. So I ask you what I was able to do on the outside, at my lowest point, without magic. What my daughter has been able to do while suffering through a bout of depression. And then consider what we're able to do here, together. So maybe we should stop bickering and get on with it. Our team is one member short—it's time to reunite the band." We start walking again, Papa and I at the head of the pack.
"Y-you don't mean," Cruella stutters, her and Ursula picking up the pace to catch up.
"Yep," I smile without looking back," the crazy ol' dragon lady herself."
"Maleficent," Ursula realizes grimly.
I don't turn when I hear my bedroom door shutting, not caring who it was right now and just wanting to sleep for a few hours before trying to wake a dragon that was supposed to be dead. "Whoever it is," I call out, pulling the covers of my bed back and smoothing out the wrinkles," just go away and I'll talk to you tomorrow." I don't get a response, the silence seeming too much after I heard my door shutting. Tense, I straighten up and try to turn only to have arms wrap around my waist and a familiar smell invading my senses.
"Hello, Darling," Pan greets, voice low and breath tickling my ear. "So nice to see you again."
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