Rage of the Sorceress

Prologue

Night was falling over the Enchanted Forest. A lone cloaked figure was making its way up toward the stone castle belonging to the Dark One, earning it the name the Dark Castle. With the casual and carefree attitude of one taking a stroll through lush green gardens, the figure strode up to the gates and walked right through them without breaking stride. In this manner it passed through all the doors that it met until it stood in a hall in which were a table, two chairs, a couple glass cabinets, and, in the far corner and shrouded by darkness, a spinning wheel. "We made a deal, Dark One," the figure called out, pushing back the hood of it's cloak to reveal a young woman standing there. "I've upheld my end-" she held up a small black box triumphantly, "-and now it's your turn. Unless you plan to, I don't know, break a deal."

"Breaking deals has never been in my nature, dearie," came a voice from the shadows hiding the wheel. "Bring it here."

She smiled cheekily. "But I don't know where here is, Dark One," she told him. "I can't see you in all this darkness. What happened to all the light that was here when we first struck this bargain?"

There was silence for a while, so long she almost feared he would not answer and actually break a deal. Then, "Surely you can follow a voice, dearie. After all, you can't become a powerful sorceress without such a simple skill and you certainly would have needed far superior skills to manage to find your end. Bring it here."

At the last three words, his voice grew dangerously dark and the woman stifled a shudder of fear. Slowly, she moved into the dark, holding the box out in front of her. Carefully, she treaded forward, wary of running into him or the wheel.

After what felt like agonizing hours of toeing her way in the direction his voice had come from, she felt the smooth wood of the wheel under her fingertips. There was little light that reached back into the corner, but she could just make him out, sitting there with a little bucket by his feet. "Now how is it fair," she asked, "if you can see me but not I you? That's really no way to perform a fair trade, Rumpelstiltskin."

"Oh, don't you worry, dearie," he said, reaching out for the proffered box. "You'll get what you want soon enough. Just give me that box, and your end will be complete."

The woman drew it back. "How do I know that you'll keep your promise?" she asked. "There's no way possible I'm going to give you this until you show me why I should give it to you before you give at least half of your end of this deal."

"Ooh, spunky are we?" he teased. "And not very trusting either, Morgan La Fey. Oh yes," he laughed at the startled expression that crossed her face, "I know who you are. I've known since you first set foot in my castle wanting to make a deal of getting you power, of boosting your magic and making you a feared sorceress of legends. But I'll tell you one thing, dearie, and it's that such a request comes at a price. Not the fetching of this box-" he pointed to it, "-but other things. Things that will happen in your future."

Her chin went up defiantly. "I've come to far to back down now, Rumpelstiltskin, much too far. And I certainly won't let you scare me from my chosen path. I make my own destiny, trust me on that."

"Very well then, if that is truly what you want. Don't say I didn't warn you though, dearie, because I did and you brushed it off like an annoying fly buzzing 'round your ear. But it's more than that."

An eyebrow went up. "Are you threatening me?"

He laughed. "Oh no, of course not. My threats rarely sound like that. No, dearie, that was a promise. All magic comes at a price." The words had barely passed his lips when he snatched the box from her. "Tread with caution from here on out, dearie," he cackled over the sound of the rising storm that would grant her the power she'd asked for. "Tread with heavy caution! Such is the price of any power, born or given!" The first of many warnings given to the woman, now sorceress, Morgan La Fey, over the course of her life, in the Enchanted Forest and beyond.

A/N: Hey guys, this is what I was considering working on next. I'll leave this up because, not only is it the prologue for the story, but it's also the teaser chapter to see if it's liked or not. And sorry if I spelled Rumple's name wrong, I discovered that reading a couple fics earlier.