Once Upon A Time ~ Book 1

Chapter 113 - Rumple's Precious Son

"You were right, Bae." Mr. Gold said to August, standing opposite him by the lake, staring into his grown face. "You were always right."
His blue eyes looked away.
"I was a coward and I never should have let you go."
He said nothing, there were no words existing that could use.
"I know it's little consolation, but I just want you to know that ever since you left, ever since you crossed the barriers of time and space, in every waking moment........I've been looking for you." his voice began to quiver. "And now that I have finally found you........" he swallowed. "......I know I can't make up for the past, for the lost time." he stepped closer to him. "All I can do is to ask you to do what you've always done and that's to be the bigger man.......and forgive me." he cryed.
Tears filled in his bright blue eyes and he looked away over the moonlit, misty lake.
"I'm so sorry, son."
He sighed.
"I'm so sorry, Bae." he cryed, his eyes becoming red and wet with tears.
He turned around threw his arms around his father, tears rowling down his face.
Mr. Gold cryed. "My boy. My beautiful boy!" he cryed over his shoulder, so much higher and broader than before.
August's hand was around his neck as he bent down to his height, the terms rowling down onto his leather slieve.
"Can you truly, truly forgive me?" he said through his tears.
"I forgive you, Papa."
He held his hands tighter around his shoulders and August broke away.
Mr. Gold looked up into his eyes. "You were looking for the knife."
"I thought that if you still had it, it would mean that you hadn't changed."
"Well, let's go and find it and see."

August dug with a shovel in the earthen ground in the forest.
"I burned it here shortly after Emma came to town." explained Mr. Gold.
August glanced up at him and continued digging, pulling the shovel deeper into the ground by standing on the metal.
"Things were changing. Didn't want to take the chance of Regina finding it."
"Of course."
"It should be right about here some......." he bent down on his knees and brushed some of the earth away with his black gloved hands. "Here, look, look." he then took from there something wrapped in dirty cloth. "Here." he unfolded the cloth and thenx beneath it, revealed the silver, wavy dagger. He picked it up by the handle and held it up as he got to his feet, the blade shining in the moonlight.
They both stared at the name Rumplestiltskin engraved in the silver.
He held it out to August. "I want you to take it. Destroy it the way I know you always wanted to."
August stared at him then down at the dagger again.
"I found you ans I don't need it any more. I chose it once....... Now I choose you."
August took it in both his hands, holding it between his fingers. He examined it carefully. "It's remarkable."
He nodded.
August stepped back then held the powerful dagger up, breathing heavily. "By the power of the darkness.........." he stepped closer now. ".....I command thee.....Dark One." he said clearly to Mr. Gold, his eyes focused on him.
"You're trying to controlled me?" he said, confused.
"I command thee, Dark One!" he demanded loudly into the night.
Mr. Gold held up his hand and pointed at him. "You are not my son.......... You're not Baelfire."
"Papa, why would you say that? I'm just trying to use your power to help........"
"Enough!" he shouted angrily. "It's over Booth. Or whoever you are. My son would never try to use me. Ans he would know that this knife cannot harness any magic in this world because there is no magic in this world." he spat at him as he still held up the dagger at him, his face changing.
"That's why he chose this place." he stepped closer to him. "He didn't want me........" he grasped he hand holding the dagger in his gloved hand. ".......dabbling." he pulled the dagger from his grip and stared down at it.
"So why bury a useless knife?"
"Oh, I wouldn't say it was useless. Still cuts through flesh rather nicely." he held up the dagger. "It's about time you started answering some questions, sunshine. Why the theatrics? Why didn't you just come to me?"
"I needed you to work for it." he said, not shifting or wincing as Mr. Gold held the dagger before him. "I needed you to want it so bad you would ignore what your eyes were seeing. Do I even look like him at all?"
"How do you know about this knife?" he glared at him.
"I hear things."
"No one here knows about this knife." he stepped even closer.
August stepped back, the closer he came to him. "No one here remembers." he corrected.
"And yet you do? You're from there, aren't you?..... From my world?" he smiled maliciously.
"The fact that your asking the question means you know the answer."
"Well, now that that's settled......." he jumped and August and thrust him against a tree trunk behind him, holding the dagger up to his neck.
He gasped for breath, pined to the tree.
"How about my other question? Who told you about me and the knife?"
"A little fairy."
"Why did you want it? If you know who I am, then you know who I am." he smiled evily at him. "The chances of you surviving this little encounter are pretty slim." he said, their faces almost touching as breathed into his face. "So why take that risk?"
"Because I'll die anyway."
"What?" he said a little quiter and less threateningly.
"I'm sick. I'm sick and I need magic. I was going to get the saviour to believe....." he shook his head. ".......but the woman....." he scoffed. "I don't think I'm going to make it long enough to see that happen."
He pushed his neck back with the blade of the silver dagger. "She trusts you. It might be enough." he pulled the dagger away from him and stepped back. "Try again." he turned and bend down to pick up his walking stick he had let drop to the earthen ground.
"You're gonna let me live?"
"You're gonna die either way. This way, at least I might get something out of it." he sneered and walked away.
August stared ahead then fell back, down against the tree trunk, onto the earthen ground.

******************************

Rumplestiltskin stood in the midst of the forest, alone, looking up into the dark sky. "Reul Ghorm! Show yourself!" he demanded into the air.
The Blue Fairy fluttered towards and he turned quickly on his heal when he heard her.
"How do I follow him?" he asked, holdong up his dagger.
"You had the way. You didn't take it. And there are no more magic beans."
He pointed his dirty finger at her. "That's a lie."
"We don't do that."
"A lie."
"You will never make it to that world."
"Well, I'll find a way. There must be other paths. A realm-jumper?" "No."
"A time-turner."
"No."
"A mage?"
"There is no......"
"A curse?" he let out loudly.
"No." she said untruthfully.
"Ah, so it is a curse." he glared at her.
"Of course you would think of a curse instead of a blessing. Your magic is limited by its own rotten core, Rumplestiltskin. Anyway, it can't be done. Not without a great price."
"I've already paid a great price."
"So you'd be willing to sacrifice this world for the next? Because that's how great the price is."
"Well, what do you think?"
"Well, then I'll confirm myself knowing that such a curse is beyond your abilities."
"For now. But I got all the time in the world. I will do nothing else. I will love nothing else!" he screamed. "I will find a way." he held up the dagger. "You took my son. But I will get him back."
"I didn't take your son." he sneered.
"You took my son! But I will get him back!" he shouted.
"You drove him away."
The rage grew in him and swung his dagger at the Blue Fairy, again and again but she shuffled back ans flew away.
"I will find him! I will find him!" he shouted. "I will find him." he breathed.

******************************

Emma walked into the Sherif's station to see Regina sitting inside on one of the desks. Emma looked up surprised and she stepped inside.
"Congratulations, Sherif Swan. There is about to be a big break in your case." said Regina.
Emma tilted her head inquringly.
"You just got yourself a confession." she explained. "But I want you to listen to the whole explanation, so you understand why this happened." she stood straight.
"I'll hang on every word you say." said Emma.
"Sidney, you can come in now."
Emma eyed Regina then turned when Sidney stepped inside.
"Tell her what you told me." Regina said to him.
"It was me. I confess. I abducted Kathryn......."
Emma and Regina looked at one another, Emma glaring at her.
".......and I held her in the basement of an abandoned summer home by the lake."
Emma eyed him, believing nothing he said.
"I bribed a lab tech to get me the heart from the hospital and I used that same person to doctor the lab results."
"And the other thing." Regina reminded him.
"I borrowed some skeleton keys from Regina....and I planted the knife in your apartment."
Emma gritted her teeth in rage at them.
"My keys. I can't help but feel personally violated about that part."
Emma through her keys and coat on the desk in front of her angrily. "And I am supposed to belive you did this for why now?"
"I was gonna find her after the conviction, be a hero....."
Regina raised her eyebrows.
"........then get the inside track on the biggest story to ever hit this town. I'd get my job back, plus a novel and a movie and....... I done know. It sounds crazy now."
Emma stepped closer to Sidney, her arms folded. "I don't know about crazy. But false, yes. False as hell."
"I have maps to where the house is. You'll find chains in the basement. Lots of fingerprints, I'm sure, hers and mine. But I didn't hurt her."
Regina stepped closer to them and stared at Sidney, concerned. "The man has obviously suffered some kind of mental break. He clearly hasn't been himself for a while."
Sidney opened to his mouth to say something but didn't.
Emma glared at his. "Yeah. It's like his words aren't his at all." she sneered.
"Wow. You are si sold on your rush to judgement that you can't even see the truth anymore." she looked at Emma.
Emma turned her head quickly to Regina. "A word in the hallway please." she demanded loudly and she stomped our of the room.
Regina glanced up a Sidney once more and shook her head pitifully. She walked out of the room her high heals echoing as she walked down the hallway to Emma.
"Well, that's the biggest load of crap I've ever heard." said Emma.
"I'm pretty sure that's not true."
"That poor man. I know you were behind all this. I understand that you own the game and th at you've set the board so that no one else can win, but I am about to start playing an entirely different game......." she stepped closer to her. "......I don't care about what happens to you. I don't card about what happens to me. All I care about is what happens to my kid......." she glared at her. "And you are going to leave him alone."
"Am I?"
She interupted her from speaking, stammering. "I'm talking....... You are a sociopath, lady. You tryed to take away someone that I love and now...........I'm gonna take away someone you love."
Regina stared at her, smiling, not feeling threatened.
"I'm taking back my son." she said firmly, glaring at her.