Sirs Arthur, Lancelot and Percival searched through a library, checking every possible book on Magic. Arthur shook his head. "It's not here." The Librarian walked up to the Knights of the Round Table. "Can I help you gentlemen with anything?" Lancelot looked up. "Yes. We're looking for a book on rare forms of magic. Extremely rare." The librarian nodded. "I'll check the back."
As soon as the librarian left the room, a tiny tornado of dark mist appeared, and quickly dissipated to reveal a being in a black cloak. Arthur drew his sword. "Who are you?" The cloaked figure waved their hand, magically forcing the sword from his hand. "Relax, Sir Arthur. I'm not here to fight you. I came..."
The cloaked figure removed her hood, a scaly golden face with bulging yellow eyes underneath. "...to make a deal." Arthur dropped his arm. "Dark One." Elsa took a bow. "Pleasure to meet you. Let's talk business. You're looking for a way to travel back in time. Am I getting warm?" Arthur nodded. "You can open a time portal?" Elsa scoffed. "If I could do that on a whim, I would have already done so. No, Time Travel is tricky. You need the right ingredients. And while I might not know what they are, I know someone who does. As a matter of fact, we both know who that is."
Arthur clenched his fist. "Merlin." Elsa waved her hand, forming a pocket mirror in her palm. "This mirror is enchanted. It was once a part of a terrible curse that tore an entire kingdom apart. But if I were to cast a tethering spell to it, just like Merlin did to Excalibur to bind it to Rumplestiltskin..." Arthur held up a hand. "What do you want from me?"
Elsa turned around. "Two things, really. You see, at least one person from all six kingdoms is seeking a rare form of magic. Queen Snow White of Misthaven is looking for a fate worse than death. I'm looking for one on a colossal scale. Some street rat in Agrabah is looking for a way to keep his Genie powers forever. Princess Merida of DunBroch is looking for a Magic Bean, and a little mermaid in Atlantica is looking for a way to control the entire ocean so that she can kill Captain Blackbeard. There's already an alliance between the six kingdoms, but all of them seem to be on the verge of a transition of power. Perhaps if we pooled our resources together, we could achieve these rare feats of magic."
Arthur nodded. "And you want me to join your hypothetical council." Elsa smiled. "Well, if you say yes, it won't be so hypothetical anymore, now would it?" Lancelot grabbed his sword. "And the other thing?" Elsa shrugged. "I want you to prove that you are willing to help your new allies. As proof, I want you to burn this library to the ground."
Percival drew his sword. "For what purpose would you need such a thing done?" Elsa turned around. "Some of these books have information regarding the Dark One, and I can't have that information out in the open. Burn it, and you get your magic mirror, and Merlin."
Arthur reached into his satchel, and pulled out a torch. Elsa smiled and handed him the mirror. "You'll get Merlin once I see the smoke. I look forward to doing business with you in the future, Arthur." With a flick of her wrist, Elsa disappeared into a dark cloud as Arthur prepared to light the torch.
Arthur, Lancelot and Percival rode their horses away from the library as the flames grew in size. The librarian tried to escape, but the door had collapsed, trapping her inside. She huddled down and prepared for the worst when a blast of light magic extinguished all of the flames. A knight in a suit of armor ran up to the librarian.
"Are you alright?" The librarian got to her feet. "I... I think so." The knight removed his helmet, revealing the face of Rumplestiltskin. The librarian turned to face him. "You... you're him, aren't you? The Light One? Rumplestiltskin?" Rumplestiltskin smiled. "Well, Dearie, it would appear that I am at a disadvantage. You are?" The librarian chuckled. "M-My name's Belle."
Rumplestiltskin bowed down. "Belle. A pleasure. Well, since I've already saved you from the fire, I might as well finish the job." Rumplestiltskin twisted his fingers, summoning a large handful of golden straw. "Take this and sell it. It should earn you more than enough to rebuild your library." Belle took the golden straw. "How can I possibly repay you?"
Rumplestiltskin laughed. "What kind of Beast would I be if I asked for anything in return for such a deed? Nothing could possibly match the value. No, a good deed is its own reward. And while Dark Magic always comes with a Price, Light Magic does not." Belle smiled. "W-Will I be seeing you again, Rumple?" Rumplestiltskin took a deep breath. "My lady, I certainly hope so."
