𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐒𝐄𝐃 ★ 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 ⁵

•Chapter 11: Sisters•

After Belle almost attacked Merida with an ax before the archer explained herself and Belle agreed to help, we arrived at another shore before we made our way through the forest. When we came to a shack, we hid behind a log as we peered over it to watch the old building.

"There's magic in there that can help us," Merida whispered, "we can use it to find my brothers."

"You sure that the witch isn't home?" Belle asked.

"No. And what does it matter? We're only going to be inside long enough to use her cauldron."

"Stay here," Belle told us, causing me to nod in response.

Once they got to their feet, I looked back to my group to see Katherine staring at Merida's belt. More importantly, the symbol. When Belle and Merida began to walk towards the only shack, I turned my attention to the curious girl next to me.

"Is that symbol the same as-"

"Yeah," she cut me off, "it matches my necklace."

"So you and Merida do have a connection," Sam said.

"Yeah," Katherine whispered.

"You should ask her what it means," I told her.

"What if she doesn't want to tell me? What if she can't tell me?"

"As soon as she sees that your necklace matches the symbol on her belt, she'll tell you everything," Sam answered.

"You think?" she questioned.

"We know," we responded in unison.

***

As Belle looks out the window to see if anyone is waiting for us outside of the library, the rest of us stand by the door, ready to fight if we have to.

"Alright," she whispers, "coast is clear," she then turns to us, "we should go now."

"No, no, no," Rumpelstiltskin panics, "I'm sorry. I-I can't. I can't go. I'm sorry."

"But your shop's only a hundred yards away."

"No, I-I'm sorry. I-I can't."

"You made it out of the woods and through the mines with...this isn't just about you getting back to your shop, is it?"

As the words leave her mouth, Rumpelstiltskin looks away from Belle's and to the ground.

"It's my leg," he sighs, "it's a reminder of what I was when I fled the Ogre Wars. What I continued to be when I became the Dark One and what I still am. A coward."

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Sam tense up at the mention of the wars and instantly know that was the war he was fighting in before he ended up on Neverland.

"But you've told me why you have that limp before," Belle responds, "because you've walked for days on a broken foot just so you can return to your son."

"Do you know how the foot was broken in the first place?" Sam asks with a bit of venom in his voice, causing everyone to look at him before I hear Rumpelstiltskin sigh.

"Because you broke it," Belle answers, "so that Baelfire wouldn't grow up without a father," she then turns back to Rumpelstiltskin, "Rumple, you may have made many mistakes in your life, but this isn't one of them. I have always seen the man behind the beast, alright? But now, now I see something else too. A hero. And you...you just need to learn to see him too."

***

We turned our attention back to the hut as the door opened to reveal Merida. She walked over to a makeshift target, loaded her bow with an arrow, and let it go. Hit dead center. She loaded another arrow and shot it at the first, splitting the first in two. Something I've seen Katherine do once or twice.