Ch.26: The Crocodile
After seeing that Rumple had been doing something with magic in the basement of the house, she confronted him the next day and then she left and had some iced tea at Granny’s. Then she met Ruby whom offered her a job at the library, since she said that she loved books.
After finding Belle gone and window open, Rumple assumed that she’d probably gone out unannounced or been taken, so he went to her father whom said he didn’t know where she was and called Rumple a monster.
After Belle’s father told him that he didn’t know where Belle was, Rumple went to Charming to report her as a missing person, though he wasn’t sure if she was missing or if she had ran away. He’d lost his wife, Mila. He didn’t want to lose Belle.
*Flashback*
After the night Bae and Rumple went to find Mila whom was drinking with Captain Hook and his crew, Mila left Rumple and Bae both to sail with Hook, having fallen for Hook. She hadn’t wanted to live the life they were living and she didn’t want to have a coward as a husband. So, she left. Rumple saw it as Hook stealing her from him, though and went to Hook’s ship to get her back. It didn’t pan out since he was only human at the time.
After a while of turning into The Dark One, he found Hook and said that he wanted a duel the following night. And so, they did so. Because Rumple had magic and Hook didn’t, he was bested by The Dark One he called The Crocodile.
Rumple stood over Hook with a foot on the sword.
“Do you know what it’s like to have your wife stolen from you? To feel powerless to stop it? It feels like having your heart ripped from your chest. Actually, let me show you.”
Rumple put a hand through his chest where Hook’s heart was.
Mila appeared, seeing what Rumple was about to do.
“Stop!”
Rumple turned his head to look at her.
“Mila?”
He had thought of her as dead, since Hook had told him that she had died years ago.
Rumple took his hand out of Hook’s chest and stood, looking at his wife.
“Mila,” Rumple said. “How?”
From where Hook was on the ground, Hook told her, “Mila, you have to run.”
Mila looked at Hook.
“No. I’m not leaving without you.”
“How sweet,” Rumple commented. “It appears there’s more to this tale than I know. Tell it to me, Mila.”
“Please, don’t hurt him. I can explain,” she pleaded with him.
“Tick tock, dearie! Tick tock!”
“That first night when Killian and his crew first came into the tavern, he told stories about the places he’s been, and I fell in love with him. I didn’t mean for it to turn out this way. I didn’t know how to tell you the truth. I’m sorry,” she explained.
“And so, here we are. You’ve come to save the life of your true love. The pirate. I didn’t realize the power of true love before. It is impressive. I’d hate to break it up. Actually, no; I’d love to.”
“Wait. I have something you want,” Mila offered him.
He looked at her.
“Well, I find that very difficult to believe.”
She brought out a red hat.
“The magic bean in exchange for our lives,” she offered. “Deal?”
“I want to see it first,” he said, now standing in front of her.
*Present*
When Belle was trying to get into the library, she was kidnapped and found out that the guy was put up to it by her own father. She tried to reason with him letting him know that she wasn’t held captive and that she fell in love with him, but her father told the guy to do it.
Meanwhile, Rumple and Charming were still looking for Belle.
While they were heading to Granny’s, Rumple asked Charming how he and Snow do it, to understand how to make it work with Belle.
“Honesty and hard work,” Charming informed him. “There’s a difference between literal truth and honesty of the heart. Nothing taught me that more than the curse.”
When they went to Granny’s, Ruby said she pointed Belle in the direction of the library and didn’t know if she went there or not, but she did leave something in her booth, which Rumple said was his since she didn’t have anything for the cold. Then Ruby helped them by tracking her scent because of the wolf thing. Ever since the curse broke, she’d been able to smell odors more intensely.
When Charming saw Belle’s father’s hands, he knew that he’d been in the mines and that there were tunnels that led out of town, so they went there to look for her, putting her father in the back of her father’s truck and driving her father’s truck.
*Flashback*
After the night of the duel, Rumple found the Jolly Roger where Hook and Mila were.
“Looks like you found a family. One you couldn’t have with me,” Rumple greeted Mila.
Mila showed the magic bean to Rumple and tossed it to Hook, whom took it.
“You’ve asked to see it. Now you have,” Hook said.
“Do we have a deal?” Mila asked Rumple. “Can we go our separate ways?”
“Do you mean, do I forgive you?” Rumple countered her. “Can I move on? Perhaps. I see that you are truly in love. Just one question.”
“What do you want to know?” Mila asked him.
“How could you leave Bae? Do you know what it was like walking home that night—”
“Rumple—,” Mila said.
“knowing I had to tell our son—“
“Please—“
“his mother is dead?”
“I was wrong to lie to you. I was the coward,” she admitted.
“You left him! You abandoned him!”
“And there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t feel sorry for that.”
“Sorry, yes! You let him go.”
“I let my misery cloud my judgment,” she admitted.
“Why were you so miserable?”
“Because I never loved you.”
Because those words hurt him, he ripped her heart out.
“No!” Hook yelled, but was magically tied to a pole. He got free though and caught her when she fell to the deck.
She looked at Hook.
“I love you.”
Rumple crushed her heart, which turned to dust, and she died in Hook’s arms.
Hook looked at him.
“You may be more powerful now, but you’re no less a coward.”
“I get what I came for now,” Rumple said.
“You’ll have to kill me first,” Hook said, the bean still in his hand.
“I’m afraid that’s not in the cards for you, sunny boy,” Rumple replied, and took out his sword, before cutting off Hook’s hand.
Hook was on his knees in pain.
Rumple picked up Hook’s chopped off hand.
“You’re alive, because I want you to suffer like I did.”
Hook used a hook on the deck to stab into him to kill him, but it didn’t kill him. Rumple didn’t even show any pain from the hook.
“Killing me is going to take a lot more than that, dearie,” Rumple said.
“Even demons can be killed,” Hook stated. “I will find a way.”
“Well, good luck living long enough.”
Rumple vanished and Hook picked up the hook, and then looked over at Mila’s body.
*Present*
Once in the mines and after finding where she was, Rumple used magic to bring the cart she was in to a stop not far from him and the others that were there. Then he magically took the handcuffs off her.
“Seriously. Wow,” Ruby stated.
Charming helped her out and Rumple came over to her.
“Belle, are you alright?”
“I—I think so.”
“You remember who I am?”
“I do. Rumpelstiltskin. I remember.”
They hugged.
Her father watched from a distance.
She pulled away.
“What’s wrong?” Rumple asked.
“Thank you for what you just did, but that doesn’t change that you’re too cowardly to be honest with me.”
“Belle, that’s not—,” he began.
“I tried to tell you, Belle. Come with me, darling,” her father said.
“After what you just tried to do to me?” Belle questioned him. “You’re no better, father. You don’t get to decide what I do or how I feel. I do. If either of you cared about me, you would’ve listened. I don’t want to see either of you again.”
The next morning, after she ordered pancakes and after Ruby told her where the syrup goes and stuff, Ruby told her that someone dropped a little black box off at the front desk for her. Ruby gave it to her and when Belle opened it, it was the key to the library.
After breakfast, Belle opened the library and walked inside.
Rumple came from one of the aisles.
“You gave me the key,” she said.
“I knew it peaked your interest and I made some inquiries. There’s an apartment for a caretaker if you want it.”
“If this is some way to win me back, after everything you’ve—“
“That’s not why I’m here. I came, because you’re right. About me. I am coward. I have been my entire life. I tried to make it up by collecting power. The power became so important that I couldn’t let go. Not even when it meant losing the most important person in my life.”
“Your son,” she stated.
“Baelfire. That’s his name. After he left, I dedicated myself to finding him. I went down many many paths. Until I found a curse that could take me to the land that he escaped.”
“Here.”
“Now I find myself in this little town with only one thing left to do. Wait for the curse to be broken so that I can leave and find him.”
“But instead of looking for him, you brought magic,” Belle reminded him.
“Because I’m still a coward. Magic has become a crutch that I can’t walk without. And even if I could, I know now that I can never leave this place,” he admitted.
“Because anyone who leaves, forgets the people they love. So when you go to look for Baelfire, you won’t know him.”
“Magic comes with a price. Belle, I have to break this new curse. That’s why I was using magic. That night you saw me down in the basement. I have lost so much that I have loved. I don’t want to lose you again, without you knowing everything.” He rested a hand on the side of her face. “Goodbye, Belle.”
He turned around and began to walk away, but stopped, when she asked him, “Have you ever had a hamburger?”
He turned around to look at her.
“Yes; Of course.”
“Well, I haven’t. But I hear Granny’s makes a great one. Maybe we could try it sometime,” she offered.
“I would like that.”
She watched, as he turned around again and left.
Hook was surveying what looked like an island a ways away, as he stood on what looked like maybe a beach.
Cora approached.
“Hello, Hook.”
He stopped looking, putting away his spy glass, and looked at her.
“Hello, Cora. You told me you had something important you needed to show me.”
She pulled out what she had put remains from dust in which now was dust with purple combined.
“Sparkling dust. Wonderful,” he said, seeing it.
“Just the remains of a magical wardrobe that can travel between worlds.”
“Is there enough to get us ready to go?”
“Not quite, but it’s a start,” she replied.
“I’m almost ready to set sail. What’s our port of destination?”
“Storybrooke,” she answered.
“Curious name. Is that where—?” he began.
“She is and so is he,” she answered him.
“Excellent. You’ll be able to see your daughter, and I can skin myself a crocodile.”
She gave a smile and they just looked at each other.
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