Once Upon A Time ~ Book 1

Chapter 126 - The Deal In The Midst Of The Infinite Forest

The Evil Queen pased her room impatiently, her dark purple gown trailing accross the black tiles.
The huntsman then walked in to the room slowly, empty handed.
Retina turned around to him. "Where is her?...... The prisoner!" she shouted.
"Escaped."
The Queen glared at him, raising her hand and blasting him into the stone wall. "A palace full of gaurds, and you let him escape?" she marched towards him.
"I did my best." he gasped.
"You failed! And do you know what happens to people who fail me, Huntsman?"
"I'll find him. You needn't worry. Leave him to me."
Then from the other side of the room the Queen's mirror began to tinkled. She turned her head and looked around at it. "That won't be necessary." she walked towards it and stared at Charming running quickly from the castle by the forest. "He's mine." she said, smiling maliciously qnd with that she waved her hand.

Charming ran as fast as his legs would let him but then in a poof of smoke he appeared in a huge, sun lit forest. He fell with a thud to the dry, earthen ground and groaned in pain. He rowled over and looked up at the huge coniferous trees around him. He stumbled to his feet, his hand on the heed of his sword in his belt. He stared around making sure his company was only the chirping birds then he began to run again, but what he didn't know was that ahead was endless and endless forest, trees that went on beyond the horizon, trees that he could never escape.
He continued running for hours, running in circles, straight ahead, in all directions but it was all the same, just trees. He stopped and stared around for a moment until a voice broke the silence of the singing birds.
"Lost, are we?" said Rumplestiltskin's voice from behind him.
He turned on his heal, drawing his sword, but left it down when he saw who it was, sitting casually on a log, beneath a tree. He panted heavily, breathing frosty mist from his mouth. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm just here to help."
"Well, no need. I'll be fine." he turned and began to walk away.
"No, I don't think so."
He stopped and looked around at him again.
"This is the Infinite Forest. There's no way out. Well.....except my way."
"I want nothing from you." he began to walk away again.
"Not even this?" he asked, smiling maliciously, holding up Charming's silver ring with the green jewel between is dirty, yellow fingers.
"My mother's ring." he said shocked. "It was just....." he checked his satchel to find it empty. "How did you get it?" he shouted, stepping closer to him.
"The same way I get everything I want." he slipped down from the log and strolled towards him. "Magic. The same magic that allows me to do this." he threw the silver ring into the air and let it fall back into his hand. As it touched his flesh it began to glow and sparkle. "This ring is now enchanted. The closer you get to Snow White, the brighter it will glow. Interested?"
He held out his hand. "Give it to me."
"Ah!" he stepped back, closing his hand. "It's not something for nothing, dearie. Time to make a deal." he smiled.
"No! No more deals." he drew his sword and flung the blade at Rumplestiltskin. He leabed back and dogged it, smiling, impressed. He attempted dyo strick him again but he caught the silver blade between his fingers, giggling. Charming shouted furiously, striking him again, but he had disappeared.
"Over here." he chanted from behind him, he turned to find him holding a sword himself. He charged at him striking his sword again and again but every time he blocked it with a simple flick of the blade and a chuckle, evil as could be. He stricked nut he again disappeared, appearing behind him. Rumplestiltskin hit his back with the blunt side of his sword.
"Persistent." he said.
Charming throw the satchel from around his neck to the ground and steped forward again, sticking aimlessly again and again. He flung his sword at him but he blocked, turning around and pushing him back, blowing him to the earthen ground. He quickly got to his feet again and they fought, their swords clinking, determination in Charming's eyes and amusement in Rumplestiltskin's. He blocked his skilled stricks and held his sword down, standing close to him.
"Had enough?"
"Never." he pushed him back and in that small moment he stricked Rumplestiltskin with his blade.
His face was blasted back, a deep scab on his cheek.
"Hmm....." he chuckled waving his hand slowly over his face, healing the cut.
Charming flung his sword at him again, but he knocked him over the back with the heed of his sword and blasted him back against a tree. He bounced from it and fell to the earthen ground yet again. He rowled over on his side and attempted to grab the sword he had dropped but it disappeared qnd Rumplestiltskin stopped him by holding the blade of his own sword up against his neck.
"Looking for this?" he asked.
He panted heavily, staring up at him, the feeling of defeat onside of him.
"So brave...... So gallant..... So pointless. Bravery won't get you out of this forest, dearie. Magic will. Trust me, this is a deal you'll want to make......" he leaned down, closer to him on the earthen ground. ".....Because we both want the same thing."
"What's that?"
"Why, you and your true love to be together, of course!" he held out his hand and before him with the glowing ring resting at the top of his index finger." he smiled, chuckling a little.

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Mary Margaret walked from the bright, warm Granny's Diner, with a takeaway coffee in her hand as she walked towards her car through the dark, cold street. She stopped before the door of her car when she heard a voice on the other side of the street.
"Hey." said David, walking towards her.
"David." she said surprised.
"I was wrong....... About you. About me. About......everything."
Mary Margaret opened her mouth to say something but she couldn't find the right words.
"I didn't believe in you. And I wish I had a good reason why." he sighed. "But it's like I keep making these wrong decisions, and I don't understand why they keep happening."
She looked down at the coffee cup in her hands.
"You know, ever since I woke up from the coma, my life hasn't made a luck of sense............. Except for you. And what I'm feeling......" he smiled. "It's love, Mary Margaret.'
"David, why are you here?"
"Because Kathryn put a down payment on an apartment in Boston. She's not gonna use it. But I am." he smiled again. "Unless you give me a reason to stay."
"David....."
He chuckled sadly pulling on a pitiful smile.
"..... I can't." She said sadly.
David nodded, disappointed and she opened her car door and stepped inside. He stood there quitely, staring ahead, a tear rowling down his rough cheek as he closed his eyes.

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Charming stood before Rumplestiltskin in the forest now, no longer beaten to the ground.
"Behold......" said Rumplestiltskin holding up a little vile of purple, sparkling liquid, the liquid created by the strands of hair from Snow and Charming. "....the most powerful magic of all....... True love."
He reached out to take it but he pulled his arm back.
"Ah! Careful, this is all I have left of it."
"What do you know of true love?"
"Well, not so much as you, perhaps, but not so little as you might think."
"You? You loved someone?" he said surprised.
"It was a brief flicker of light amidst an ocean of darkness."
"What happened?"
"She died........ That's the thing about true love, dearie, it can slip through you fingers. It's the most powerful magic in the world. The only magic powerful enough to break any curse. It must be protected at all costs." he said seriously for once.
"I don't understand. What exactly is it you want me to do?"
"I want you to help me protect it. By putting it in a safe place for me." he waved his hand and a golden egg apeared in it, decorated with diamonds and crystals as fine as could be. He opened it by a hatch on the side and put the between the cushion material on the inside.
"And where's that?"
"Inside the belly of a beast, of course." he laughed his evil laugh and he three the egg to him.
Charming looked down at it. "Why hide it?"
"Let's just say.....I'm saving it for a rainy day." he giggled.