✅️His Golden Princess

To Saving My Husband

"Sharing a dark heart isn't all it is cracked up to be is it, golden princess. You shall join the dark side soon enough." Gripping his shoulders my eyes fell closed where he lowered me to the floor calling my name.

Shooting upright I gasped sharply for air feeling my heart beating rapidly where it felt like it might jump out of my chest. My hair gets tousled around the front of my face with me gripping the wooden floor with my nails. Footsteps quickly approached to my side where I finally noticed it was Rumple. "Astrid!"

"Rumple!" I stumbled up onto my knees doing my best to catch his body when he collapsed down in front of me. "Rumple what...what happened...how long was I out?"

He clutched his chest over his heart looking me in the eye. "I...I tried to free myself from the hat but your sister...she stopped me. I don't have much longer, dear! It's my heart. The last human fleck of red... Is disappearing."

"Your ability to love." I shuttered under my breath gently gripping his shoulders in my fingers.

His chest kept heaving up and down with his hair falling in front of his face. I could see the terror in his facial expression. He had that same look when we we're dying from the poison from Neverland. "At least, in the end... I get one last taste. We were happy. We were in love."

"Don't talk like you're already dead. I won't let you die here. I refuse to raise this child without his father." Grasping his left hand in my right I gripped it tightly in mine kissing the ring he wore on his finger. "I am giving up on you, do you hear me. You regret what happened with Neal and I know you are terrified you will fail this one but you won't. Fight for me Rumple...fight for this child."

He rested a hand to my cheek where I leaned into it putting my other hand over his. "Oh Astrid...I love you. I love you...and I'm sorry for all the dangers I have...put you through." He rested his forehead agape mine sniffing through some tears alongside me until my eyes landed on his dagger.

"If you want me to give into your power so much then save him....save him you Dark Ones!" I angrily picked up the blade in my right hand frustration boiling through my veins. The vision of the evil side of Rumple was causing him this pain and they could stop it. If they wanted me then they had to save his life.

Rumple weakly put his hand over my wrist holding onto the blade with me struggling to keep himself alive. "Go far away. When the man is gone... Only the Dark One remains. And that is more... That's more dangerous than... You can ever imagi... Aah!"

"Rumple! Rumple!" He collapsed causing me to drop the dagger cursing under my breath running as fast as I could to Granny's needing someone else to help. Hook, Emma and our parents had brought in an old man claiming to be an apprentice with magic that could help with the purple hat he had.

Hook stood by my sister. "He tried to use the hat to free himself from the dagger."

The Apprentice bent down picking up the purple hat that I had gotten from the safe behind the painting with the safe handing it to him. "This is not unlike that. We're pulling the darkness from him and containing it."

"Does that mean that his heart will be healed?" I questioned him, grabbing my hands in Rumple's left staying on my knees sniffing through some tears praying that he could actually save him.

The old man looked down at me and then to the others. "Perhaps... If the strength is there. This is more dark power than the hat has ever been asked to contain."

"Do what you need to do." My sister replied, moving to rest a hand on my shoulder.

The Apprentice reached into my husband's heart pulling out his heart showing the others that it was black as the clothes Regina used to wear before the first curse was broken. He then picked up the magic hat mumbling some words from an ancient spell. "Purest evil, blackest bloom, darkness, too, can find its doom. Never dying, but contained, bound inside the falcon's chamber, shorn of anger, thornless danger, there forever to remain." The hat turned his heart completely white before he pushed it into his chest. "Rumplestiltskin was the Dark One for centuries. His return to the man he used to be will not be easy. This will preserve him until we discern if we can help him."

Closing my eyes I put my fingers on his neck feeling a weak pulse until the tiny box started shaking right with the darkness bursting outside and straight inside the older man. My sister launched her light magic into his chest knocking the darkness out where it broke through the door of the shop going outside. "Mom, dad! Go after it! Go! I'll be right there. Help me make him comfortable.What was that?" My sister spoke up.

Our parents and the others left the shop with me and Emma lifted the older man up and then laid him down on the cot in the back room with him struggling to stay awake. "Long before... Your stories began... The sorcerer battled the darkness. He was able to keep it from consuming the realms. He tethered it to a human soul that could be controlled with a dagger."

"The Dark One." My sister and I both declared together softly.

He mumbled out. "The sorcerer is the only one with the power to destroy the darkness once and for all before it destroys everything."

"Where is he? Who is he?" My sister asked while I glanced over my shoulder seeing my husband laying on the wooden floor.

The Apprentice closed his eyes before my sister rushed outside. "He's far, far from here. Find him. His name is... Merlin. You must... Stop... The darkness. Find... Merlin." Snatching the dagger up from the wooden floor I bursted through the red door seeing Hook and our parents just standing in the middle of the street.

Mom looked around frantically standing beside our father. "It just disappeared into the night."

"The Dark One... It's no longer tethered to the Crocodile." The pirate replied with me clutching the dagger in my hands.

Regina and Robin Hood walked up to us confused at what was going on. "What?! Where the hell is it?"

"It hasn't gone anywhere. The darkness... It's surrounding us." Emma glanced around while I ran up to her being able to sense it surrounding us. The wind blows my hair in my face with a harsh kick to my stomach from the baby.

Regina glanced up to the night sky getting surrounded by a web of darkness with it trying to claim her as the new Dark One. ""Regina! What's it doing?!" Robin shouted, taking a step backwards.

"What darkness does... Snuffing out the light." My sister held her hands up knowing that she had to do something.

"I'm not gonna let it." Robin attempts to run forward but the darkness throws him back.

My sister turns towards him with me feeling some pain go to my head like it had a few hours ago. The dagger in my hand started shaking where I death gripped it in fear that it would launch away. "That's not gonna work on this thing! The Apprentice told me we have to do what the sorcerer did! We have to tether it to a person to contain it!"

"Emma!" Mom shouted seeing my twin running up to the former evil queen.

Regina shook her head no with the darkness still around her. "No! There has to be another way!"

"There isn't. You've worked too hard to have your happiness destroyed." My sister paused knowing that she needed to do something.

Our father reached out with his freehand. "No!

"You figured out how to take the darkness out of me once. You need to do it again... As heroes." My sister turned slightly towards our parents seeing that I was holding onto the dagger in my hand. She ran forward reaching out for it begging me. "Astrid give me the dagger. I will take the darkness before it takes control of her."

Shaking my head I hug the blade closer to my chest moving my gaze back over to Regina. I couldn't resist the visions that I had seen. I was attracted to Rumple before I saw he was good too. "I can't do that, Emma. I have seen a vision where I became the Dark One...I have to do this."

"I am your sister. I can take it so you don't have to." She reached forward again but I raised my hand, freezing everyone in place so they couldn't stop me.

Blinking my eyes for a second the vision of the enchanted Rumple appeared in front of where Regina was still dealing with the darkness. "Excellent dearie. Now take that dagger and become who you are supposed to be."

"This isn't my destiny, Dark One. I am doing this to save my husband and my family. And mark my words I will find Merlin and destroy you!" Running forward I shoved the end of the dagger into the cloud of darkness hearing a lightning snap. The darkness surrounded me where I grunted seeing that everyone was unfrozen before the darkness swept me and into the air disappearing. Seconds after the dagger fell onto the ground with the name Astrid Swan-Gold engraved across it.

Comments really appreciated ❤️