Baker's Apprentice Who Lives In A Shoe

Hiding True Love

A/N: So close to finishing this story. I am so excited. I hope you guys are liking it so far.

Ava POV

"Why are we out here?" I ask Rumple from his shoulder. My feathers are a little ruffled from him waking me from a deep sleep. He gave me the vial of True Love, and had me turn into my avian form. He then magiced us to some random spot in the woods.

"I have a bit of business to attend to, and I wanted you to get out of the castle a little bit." He says to me.

"I suppose I have not been out and about in a while." I say. I hear rustling as Rumple sits on the large carcass of a fallen tree. I watch as a man runs around in circles a few times. I look closer to see that it is actually Prince Charming, the man in love with Snow White. Finally, Rumple speaks up.

"Lost are we?" He calls. It echoes slightly through the open area around us. The prince draws his sword as he turns around to look at us.

"What are you doing here?" He asks us as he tries to catch his breath.

"I'm just here to help." Rumple answers innocently. I squawk in laughter. Yes, he may be here to help, but it is only because there is something for him to gain from it.

"Well, no need. I'll be fine." He man answers as he turns away from us.

"No, I don't think so." Rumple says stopping in his tracks. "This is the infinite forest." He says gestures to the foliage around us. The prince still looks confused.

"There is no way out." I speak. The prince looks at me in confusion.

"Well, except, my way." My love says, bringing the man's attention back to him instead of me.

"I want nothing from you." The prince insists.

"Not even this?" Rumple holds up a lovely ring with a green stone in the setting.

"My mother's ring." The man's attention is finally in the right place. "It was just-" He looks down at a pouch attached to his belt. The ring must have been there before Rumple transported it to his own hand. "How did you get it?" Has he not met my dear Rumple before? I know he has. He should know that the Dark One is able to do many different things with magic. Why would magically transporting an object off of someone be a strange occurrence?

"The same way I get everything I want." Rumple replies as he slides off the downed tree. "Magic." He answers simply as he walks up to the charming man in front of us. "The same magic that allows me to do," He throws the ring up in the air, and the shiny objects lands back on his open hand. "This." The piece of jewelry begins to glow. "This ring is now enchanted. The closer you get to Snow White, the brighter it will glow." Rumple's hand closes around the ring. "Interested?" He asks the prince.

"Give it to me." The prince says as he tries to grab for it.

"Ah." Rumple pulls back from the prince. "It's not something for nothing, dearie." He says. "Time to make a deal." Rumple smiles and I squawk in response. I love when he is in the deal-making mood.

"No! No more deals!" The prince shouts as he draws his sword once again. He tries to slash at Rumple and I fly off of his shoulder. The prince swings at my love once again, but this time Rumple catches the blade in one hand. I continue to flap and hover as the attacker tries to slash at Rumple again. Do people never learn? Rumple disappears before the blade makes contact.

"Over here." Rumple calls from behind him. Now, my love has a sword. They begin to fight as I rest on a nearby branch. They looked to be pretty evenly matched. Suddenly, the prince manages to get in a small cut on Rumple's cheek. He just smiles and heals it quickly with his magic. The fight continues, and Rumple ends up gaining the upper hand. The prince falls defenseless to the ground. "Looking for this?" Rumple had the prince's sword pointed at its owner's own neck. "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 want to make. Because we both want the same thing."