Protect From The Darkness [OUAT || RUMPELSTILTSKIN || Crocodile's Love #5]

Chapter 3

Flashback: Camelot - Six Weeks Ago...

Inside Merlin's tower, the group were looking for ingredients to free Merlin from the tree.

"If we're going to free Merlin, we need witchbane," Regina said.

"Yeah, but the labels are all faded," Calista said.

"Forget the decloaking, it's not a glamour anyway," Emma said.

"You sure?" Regina asked.

"If I'm getting this right, the tree could actually be him transfigured, right?" Mary Margaret said.

"We could find out with a sample," Belle said.

"Yeah, and when we snap off a twig and it turns into a finger, who's crying then?" Regina said.

"That's nasty..." Naomi said.

"Exactly. Come on, someone. Witchbane," Regina said.

"You guys sure you don't want me to just wiggle my nose and get him out of that tree?" Emma asked.

"No," Calista said.

"Your magic is dark now. It's not worth it. I'll just keep pretending to be the powerful saviour destined to free him and we can do this together," Regina said.

"Regina's right, Emma," David said as he was holding baby Neal.

Arthur entered the room, "I heard someone say a woman is right. That's always a safe assumption, isn't it, David? How are you progressing, Madame Saviour?" Arthur asked Regina.

"Um... Progress. Slow but sure," Regina said.

"It's, uh... Marvellous having Merlin's own books to work with. It's like talking with the master," Belle said.

"Oh. What if we could talk to him?" Mary Margaret said as she was looking at a book.

"What?" Naomi said.

"Yes," Regina chuckled, "You are... Very occasionally... A genius," Regina said to Mary Margaret.

"Yes, if we talked to him, he can tell us how to get him out," Calista said and grabbed a book, "I saw something in here," Calista said as she started flipping through the pages.

Calista stopped at a page and held the book up to show everyone a picture of a toadstool.

"A mushroom," David said.

"Toadstool, actually. Deadly poison. Extremely useful in communicating across barriers, even though spells," Calista looked at the page, "Says here it's called the Crismon Crown," Calista said.