Apr 9, 2020
@dekujin requested me to draw her Animatronic!Rumple or Demon!Rumple, why not both?, I had so much fun with them that I got a bit carried away :D.
>>>>>ko-fi.
seen from United States
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seen from United States
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seen from Bosnia & Herzegovina
seen from United Kingdom
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seen from United States
@dekujin requested me to draw her Animatronic!Rumple or Demon!Rumple, why not both?, I had so much fun with them that I got a bit carried away :D.
>>>>>ko-fi.
The Cursed book. Chapter 14
Chapter 14: Belle learns more about the man who is possessed about demons.
Summary: When Belle finds a strange book in an abandoned library she has no idea what hell it would unleash upon the small town.
---
“My name…?” the man sounded rather uncertain, clearly trying his best to think about what he should happen.
Letting out a sigh, he shrugged his shoulders. “I am actually not certain anymore…” he admitted then. “Been very long since I have used my name. Bae… I mean, Neal, he always refers to me as his father and the only other person… the thing I have had to speak with on a regular basis is… well…”
The man pointed towards the demonic visage which was lounging between the two of them, seemingly listening closely to the conversation, resting slightly against Belle’s shoulder like if it was some… affectionate pet, more so than the horrifying demon that he was.
“That is… I am sorry…” Belle whispered.
The man shrugged his shoulders before he let out a soft sigh.
“Well… I cannot blame anyone else,” he said softly. “It was I who agreed to this. Of course… I could not have imagined the consequences, but those consequences are mine to carry alone.”
He let out a soft tone, glancing slightly up towards the ceiling of the small apartment.
Belle gave him a sad smile before she reached out her hand, daring to rest it on his shoulder.
“If I have learned something about this demon, it is that it tricks you… you may think you are doing the right thing… but… you are just playing into exactly what it wants in the end…” she let out a soft sigh. “I should know better than anyone…” she then said with a soft tone.
“The book was not going to hold us back much longer…” he said softly. “You were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time…”
“I still…” she sighed.
“Yeah… I know…” he said with a soft tone.
A silence fell between them, the demon still watching it. The man let out a soft breath before he murmured.
“Rum…”
Belle looked at him with a confused tone, glancing over to him. “What?”
“Rum. I believe that is what my name is. Rum Spinner… I at least was a spinner back then,” he shrugged his shoulders as he glanced at her.
“Oh… well… nice to meet you, Rum,” she smiled softly.
“It is nice to finally meet you too, Belle,” he nodded his head to her.
Belle then cocked her head. “So… why does the demon call itself Rumplestiltskin?”
Rum let out a long sigh, shaking his head. “It is not like it has a name… it was Neal’s favorite story when he was a child, and I think the demon took the name to win him over.”
“Truly?” Belle asked, having to chuckle a bit at the insanity of it all. Rum nodded his head giving a soft sigh.
“That is what I believe… it also liked the whole… deal making aspect. Said it could relate,” he continued to explain.
“I mean… I can see it…” Belle had to say with a soft tone.
“I am not entirely certain it understands names,” Rum responded. “There are plenty of things that it doesn’t understand… with as powerful as it is…”
For a moment Belle imagined that the demon was staring at him with a displeased look on its face… as much as it could with how inhuman that it was.
It then moved closer to Belle, before it rested against her shoulder, brushing against the shoulder with a soft sound.
Belle had to raise a brow at it, but allowed it. It was best to just allow it to do what it wanted as long as it wasn’t actually hurting someone…
It seemed that Rum agreed, even though he did give her a rather apologetic look with having to deal with the demon.
However… it was not a fight worth fighting.
“Yeah… I have noticed… especially since… it seems so obsessed with the thought of… love…” Belle muttered. Rum nodded his head.
“It is the concept that it most struggles to understand. Even when I first approached it all those centuries ago it seemed obsessed with it,” he said.
“Wait… centuries…?” Belle questioned, confused. Rum let out a soft laugh before he nodded his head.
“As hard as it is to believe… I am actually far older than I look…” he said.
“You don’t look bad…” Belle smiled softly.
“... perhaps for not being centuries old and having been possessed by a demon for most of it,” he chuckled as he shook his head.
Belle continued to look at him. While he technically looked the same as when the demon was in control… at the same time he looked… oh so different.
His features seemed milder, gentle and softer than when the demon was in control.
His lips were also lacking that present smirk which the demon always had. His eyes were… sadder… lacking the inherent cruelty of his eyes…
That this man had been going through all of this hell… she couldn't even imagine.
“I think you are looking very nice…” she then said, smiling softly, even if that was the least important thing right now.
He laughed softly. “You are a very nice person… but…”
Belle simply let out a soft tone before she wrapped her arms around him and brought him close to her.
Rum looked confused, about to ask what was going on, but there was something about that human warmth which…
He lost all his strength and slumped against her, closing his eyes as he let out a shivering breath.
“You must be so tired…” she whispered softly as she gently allowed her fingers to gently move through his hair.
“I am not certain I remember the last time I… slept…” he muttered. “I have rested… most of the time I am not the one in control of my body, but… I do not think that I have slept… I cannot even remember when I would have. Even before the possession the thought of losing my child I… I was desperate… I was so desperate. And after… I did not understand what I had done… but my son was safe… he was fine… I should be happy… but even then I dreaded the choice I had made. I feared that the demon would hurt him. That I had to keep it in check. I tried… I tried so hard…” he swallowed nervously.
“I know…” Belle whispered as she continued to try to comfort him the best that she could. “I know…”
“It is… it is just so strong… so very strong…” he shook his head.
“You have carried this thing for centuries… all the horrible things that it has done… you have had to experience. You are not to blame for its actions. You are one of its victims… and one who perhaps have had to endure the worst of it for the longest…” she assured him.
Rum sighed. “I am not so innocent… there have been times… I have felt that hunger… I have taken pleasure in…”
The man clenched his fist and put it in front of his mouth to try to swallow down the disgust that he was feeling over himself.
Belle shook her head. “No… you have survived… that is all you have done, no one can blame you for what has happened. You are innocent… never forget that.”
“The line between me and the demon at this point is so blurred I cannot tell which part is me and what is it… not fully. At this point… I cannot be rid of it… I have been with this thing for so long now. When I was all alone… when there was no one and nothing in that… that book! It was still there for me… it still cared about me…” Rum confessed, having never once spoken these words out loud before, and even now felt that perhaps he shouldn’t.
The demon, for its part, was looking on in silence. Simply listening into the conversation… or that was what Belle guessed.
It was honestly quite hard to tell.
The demon settled down further against her, even going so far as if to partially close its three eyes.
Belle had to bite her lip slightly, as she felt the demon’s various tongues brush against the skin on her arm and neck. But she refused to let it show since the man was now finally seeming to be able to relax.
Of course she was not foolish enough to think that what she was doing was not going to change anything about the situation that he was stuck in.
He would still have to carry the burden of having this demon inhabiting his body, even controlling it most of the time.
“We still have some time before dinner with your son and his girlfriend… until then… just relax…” she whispered softly.
It didn’t take long before Rum’s body went slack against her, and his breathing became easier.
Belle was surprised that the demon allowed the man to still be in control… or she assumed that was what was going on since it was still outside of his body… or…
Well… Belle couldn’t be sure that was actually what was happening…
The visage of the demon looked up at her, almost seeming a bit miffed that it wasn’t able to get a reaction out of her before it nudged her hand with its head letting her hand rest upon hers.
For some reason Belle got the thought that it wanted her to do to it what she had done with its host, so gently she stroked over its head and watched how its eyes closed and its many jaws closed and opened in utter delight.
“This… this must be the weirdest thing which I have ever experienced…” Belle had to cock her head slightly, with the demon not at all caring simply enjoying being petted.
The sensation was… indescribable…
There was some sensation… but she could not even make sense if what she was touching was corporeal or not.
She then let her head back against the head of the couch. Already she felt utterly exhausted.
So much had happened and…
Belle allowed her eyes to close and fell asleep with both the man and the demon rested against her.
The Cursed book. Chapter 15.
Chapter 15: Neal and Emma speak of what they should do next in regards to the demon possessing Neal’s father.
Summary: When Belle finds a strange book in an abandoned library she has no idea what hell it would unleash upon the small town.
---
Neal had been basically numb so that he collapsed on the bed in the room that his father… or the demon… had gotten for them.
Emma glanced around, putting her arms around herself, rubbing her arms nervously as she glanced around.
“This is…”
Neal simply let out a groan. “Yeah… I know…”
Emma shook her head slightly. “So… what shall we do?”
Neal remained laying down, his head buried in the pillow. “Well… we are going to dinner, and then you will get in the car and you will forget about all of this.”
Emma’s eyes widened, before she shook her head. “No! I will not!”
“Look, there is nothing good which is going to come out of you staying here…” Neal raised his head slightly as he let out a soft sigh.
“You said your father would not hurt me,” Emma countered.
Neal shook his head softly. “No… he won’t… the demon won’t hurt you either… but…”
“But…?” Emma sat down next to him.
“It is going to get bad soon enough… and I am talking really really bad,” Neal let his head slump down.
“Only this time… I have no way to stop it… even temporarily… and…” he let out a desperate and terrified chuckle.
“It is far worse than you could ever imagine… the chaos that it unleashes once it is bored. The horrific things it does. I can only pray that its victims are not aware of what it is doing to them, it doesn’t seem like they are, but with this thing you cannot trust anything you percieve… it can make you believe and feel anything you want. It can make you forget things you hold dearer than yourself and people you love it can make vanish from your mind as if they had never existed,” Neal’s voice was turning agitated as his breathing accelerated. “Trust me that being eaten alive by this thing is the closest thing to mercy that it has!”
Emma had to close her eyes. “But… but what about you?!”
“I have to stay… Perhaps I can find a way to stop its carnage… I…” he let out another sigh as he shook his head.
“Fuck… I don’t know what I can do… but I know that I cannot leave… not while it is out here. I doubt that it will let me. It wants to have its family… as twisted as that is. It doesn’t know family. It doesn’t know love, it cannot. But because of the pretence of love it has towards me, I can have it so that you will be safe… far far away from this,” Neal insisted.
“How can I leave when I know that you are stuck here and…” Emma looked away, not wanting to show Neal the tears which were welling up in her eyes.
“You would not remember…”
Neal’s voice made her tears practically dry up as her eyes widened in shock as she turned towards her towards her lover again.
“NO!” she burst out.
Neal let out a soft sigh. “It is for the best…”
“You are not letting that… demon piece of shit mess around in my mind!” Emma insisted. “If you do you are practically no better than he is!”
Neal let out a soft sigh, but he had to agree with how awful the thought of forcing her to do something that she did not want to… even if it would be indeed for the best…
“Fine… but… you should leave…” Neal insisted.
Emma shook her head. “I am not leaving without you.”
Neal chuckled. “That is not going to happen…”
“But he has let you leave before,” she insisted.
“He has…” Neal conceded. “But that was because of this… game he was playing. This demon’s sense of time is… different. It happens when you live for centuries. Yes… it may have rested for a couple of years before it would find its way out of that infernal book and have me come find him. Then… well… we would meet and… back into the book for another couple of years… For it… it was moments… it was… I don’t know… resting. At this point I am not even sure if my recalling of the events is even true. If we spent more time together, if it even was in the book these years I thought it was,” Neal shook his head.
“I don’t know fucking anything,” he said through gritted teeth. It can change just about fucking everything and…”
He let out another sigh.
“We are fucking puppets to it. It just does what it wants! What entertains it. I cannot have you be caught up in this… because…”
Neal swallowed. “Now the game has changed.”
Emma furrowed her brows. “How do you know that?”
“The book. The demon destroyed it. Its way of saying; game over.”
Emma remained silent for quite a while before she looked towards him, swallowing slightly.
“But… what then about the woman… Belle was it?”
Neal let his head fall into the pillow again as he let out another long groan, before lifting it again.
“I don’t know…”
“Has the demon… or your father… ever done something like that before?” Emma questioned.
“No… never…” Neal confirmed.
“That is… strange…” Emma said. “It has… not come across a woman it finds attractive before now?”
“I do not think it cares about how attractive a woman is… doubt it would know how to judge. You saw it. Can you imagine what something like that’s beauty standards really is?” he asked.
Emma frowned a bit in disgust about recalling the foul demon which had risen from Neal’s father’s back and how it acted towards that poor woman.
In truth she didn’t know if it wanted to show her affection or eat her…
It could be both, she had no clue how a demon’s mind worked.
“Suppose you are right about that…” she finally had to admit.
“But… there has to be something which caught the demon’s attention. Certainly dad might find her… attractive, though I would rather not want to think too much about that fact, but… there is something about her which vexes the demon as well… or it would have… let us not go too deeply into what that thing does with…” Neal made a visibly disgusted shudder.
Emma really did not want to ask either. It seemed that it was… bad…
Neal managed to sit himself up, leaning against the head of the bed, tilting his head towards the ceiling.
“I am… lost…” he whispered softly. Emma glanced over at him before she climbed further up on the bed, settling down next to him, resting her head on his chest, resting her arm across his stomach, hugging him closer to her.
Neal didn’t say anything, before he rested the top of his head again hers, nuzzling in her blond hair gently.
“I know I shouldn’t…” he then swallowed. “But I am happy that you are here…”
“I am not going anywhere…” Emma assured him, running her hand up and down his side gently.
Neal remained silent. He knew that he had to let her go.
“It is still a bit until dinner… want to… have a nap?” he settled a bit further down to get comfortable.
“Not sure I can sleep with what I saw today…” Emma had to admit. Neal nodded.
“Yeah… I don’t blame you…”
“But you sleep, you need it,” she glanced up at him.
“Yeah… I suppose I do…” Neal agreed with her, allowing his head to close his eyes. The room fell into silence, the air simply filled with the sound of soft breaths of the two lovers as the clock on the wall ticked down towards the fateful dinner.
Belle blinked herself awake, feeling an ache in her back as she let out a groan. Her couch really was not comfortable to sleep on… it was a mistake that she had done more than once.
Rum was still resting against her, seemingly still sleeping soundly. It seems that he needed the sleep more than she could even understand.
Letting out a soft sigh, she sat herself up slightly, glancing at the clock.
“Hmm… almost time for dinner… I think…” she whispered softly glancing around, her eyes returned to the man still sleeping soundly.
There were no signs of the demon however… so… was the demon in control now?
It was hard to tell… especially since he was asleep…
“Um… Rum… Rumplestiltskin… I think that we should get ready?” she used her finger to gently move a strand of his hair away from his face.
The man’s eyes blinked open, looking around curiously as he sat himself up with a slight flush on his cheek as he rubbed his eyes.
“Yeah… I suppose so…” he muttered softly, glancing around, as if he was uncertain what he should do.
“You are still in control?” Belle questioned.
“Yeah…” he seemed just as surprised at this fact.
“And… uh… where is the demon?” Belle had to ask, glancing at his back where the demon had been emerging, but there was no sign of it. She could not resist from reaching out and touching his back just to make sure.
Rum had to raise a brow as he glanced over at her. “What are you doing…?”
“Just… that was where it came out…” Belle’s cheeks flushed a bit.
“Suppose because that is easiest…” Rum nodded his head mostly to himself. “But it is mostly a… I suppose an illusion… or… well I haven’t been able to figure it out. It doesn’t affect my physical form in any case…”
Belle glanced over at him. “So… what happened?”
“Suppose it just wants me to be in control for a while I suppose… it will do that sometimes… but though it happens… it is rare…” he said with a soft sigh.
Belle swallowed nervously. “Well… perhaps you get to enjoy the dinner with your son without… without him?”
She gave him a shrug and a comforting smile.
“If it lets me be in control that long…” Rum shrugged his shoulders. Again… Belle could not even imagine what this man had been through. Slowly she leaned her body against his, taking his hand in hers, rubbing her fingers over the back of his hand.
“We can hope…” she whispered to him.
“You are so kind to me…” he whispered softly.
“You deserve it…” she assured him. She closed her eyes, allowing the two of them to simply sit in silence as before they made themselves ready for the dinner that the demon had planned.
Belle was well aware that the dinner was a part of the demon’s plan… whatever that plan might be. She supposed that they all could only wait and see what that plan might be...
The Cursed book. Chapter 16.
Chapter 16: Belle speaks with the man possessed by the demon.
Summary: When Belle finds a strange book in an abandoned library she has no idea what hell it would unleash upon the small town.
---
All the way through making themselves ready for dinner Belle had not seen any sign of the demon. She had asked Rum about it, he told her that the demon was still there, just… quiet.
Belle was not certain what that meant, but… it honestly didn’t sound good…
At least while he was there she knew he wasn’t causing trouble anywhere else… though Rum again assured her that the demon was still possessing him.
He felt it… deep in his bones was the words he used.
Again… Belle could not even begin to imagine.
At least he got to take a shower, even though he didn’t have any new clothes to dress himself in.
It was the demon who always dealt with that kind of stuff he told her.
Belle nodded her head softly, that seemed more than reasonable, as much as any of this could be called anything akin to reasonable.
It was… insane of course… what else could she use to describe the situation than insane.
But she chose to keep those comments to herself. No doubt the man knew better than anyone just how insane this entire thing was…
However the more she observed him the more she noted how different him and the demon were.
The demon was… confident… in charge.
The man… he was nothing of those things. In fact at this point he seemed even uncertain about how he should move his body… as if that control could be taken away at any moment.
Showed how little the demon had let him be in control…
Rum wasn’t even used to moving his own body without the demon taking control.
Again… she just felt so sorry for him. He deserved so much more than the hand that the world had dealt him.
Watching him she made a promise right then.
That she would be there for him and support him in any way that she could. It was almost certain that she could not end the possession… not without killing both him and his son and setting the demon free to…
Well… Belle didn’t know what it would do.
From what she had seen the demon was held back by the mortal form of the man so… if it was freed from that.
Would it end the world?
Why hadn’t it?
It was clear it was not bound to Rum… or it certainly didn’t seem like it. It possessed him because… well… in its own twisted way it loved him, just as it claimed to love her.
Of course it wasn’t love, but simply a perversion.
Perhaps that was all that a demon was able to feel when it came to a human emotion such as love?
Belle was sitting on the couch as she waited for Rum to be ready. She was dressed in her favorite blue dress which had a lace blue pattern over the top of it and a pair of her black high heels.
She supposed that she could only hope that tonight's activities would not involve running…
One never knew with the demon after all…
Belle perked her head up as the door was opened behind her and Rum came walking out his graying hair still a bit damp.
He still looked rather uncertain as he twinned his fingers gently.
“Uh… thank you for letting me borrow the shower…” he then said. She simply gave him a gentle smile.
“No problem, sounded like you were in need of one…”
“The shower is quite the wonderful convenience of the modern age. Trust me when I say… not everything was better before…” Rum said with a soft sigh.
“I can believe it…” Belle hesitated a bit.
“You… you have seen quite a lot haven’t you?” she then asked, cocking her head.
“I suppose I have… a consequence of being as old as I am, also… the demon of course. It afforded us quite a lot of… luxury I suppose. Able to go everywhere… see the world… it is exciting… until you have seen everything. Do it enough and… it loses its meaning,” Rum explained.
“But yes… I have seen some marvelous things… and some horrible things… not all created by the demon either…” he went on to explain.
“I can only imagine… literally…” Belle sighed. “Haven’t seen too much other than Storybrooke since I moved here… but… suppose that is a silly thing to complain about, especially…”
“No please…” Rum stopped her from going on, taking a step closer.
“It is… it is nice hearing about such… human concerns. In some sense… I hardly feel human anymore… I certainly would not even know how to begin to connect with humanity… or anything of the sort… I am… I am not sure what I am anymore. Sure at one point I was human, but…” he swallowed as he tried to find the words for what he wanted to say next.
“It has been so long since I have connected with anything human. Each time we were out of the book the demon was always the one in control and I could but watch as it…”
Again his voice faded out as he cast a look down at the floor. “Well… you can imagine.”
Belle nodded her head. “Well… you are in control now… so if… if there is anything human that you want to do… or… well that sounds silly, but…”
A soft smile emerged on Rum’s lips as he gave her a soft nod.
“Thank you…” he bowed his head towards her. “I really do appreciate that, it means a lot more than you think.”
“Perhaps after dinner… when we have time you can tell me of some of the things that you have seen? Not the… not the bad stuff, we do not need to be dwelling on that… but… the good things… the exciting things…?” Belle then continued as she looked towards him, part of her hair flowing over her arms slightly as she leaned over the back of her couch.
Rum nodded his head.
“I’d like that… I’d like that very much. Also… you can tell me of things you have seen or experienced,” he walked a couple of steps over to her.
“That won’t be a long conversation…” Belle let out a slight chuckle. “I have not done very much. Honestly, I spent most of my time reading books… which… I do quite enjoy it, some would say I enjoy them a bit too much…” she then admitted. It was something which had always followed her. That love she had for books.
And some would say… that was the reason she was in the trouble that she was in right now.
Rum shrugged his shoulders.
“Well… for a lot of my time I spent it actually in a book so… suppose that is not that different.”
There was a lighthearted tone to his voice which made Belle laugh out loud because… in some sense… it was true.
“That… that is so…” she laughed as she nodded.
Rum chuckled too.
“So… how was it… inside the book?” Belle asked, having to admit that she had been curious about that for the longest time.
“It is hard to explain… it is a different world I think… but… places that aren’t… real. You can visit other such worlds… but it is as if you are stuck in a dream. You see it… experience it… but it fades, and while you remember it vaguely… it is as if the memory is constantly moving away from your ability to recall it,” he tried his best to have it make sense… even though it clearly did not make sense to him.
Belle continued to listen.
“So… it is a dream in there?” she asked.
“I suppose that is the best way to describe it… but it isn’t me who is dreaming.”
“Is it the demon’s dreams?” Belle asked.
“No… it can’t dream. It at least was a new experience to it when I fell asleep the first time after it possessed me,” Rum now sat himself down on the couch for a while.
“So… you are the first person it has ever possessed…” Belle cocked her head.
“First who was alive at least. The demon does enjoy making… puppets out of people… suppose I was lucky that was never my fate…” Rum whispered mostly to himself. Once again Belle leaned against his arm, knowing that this man was starved of closeness. More so than any human ever should ever have to be.
Rum let out a soft sigh, having to admit that he was feeling so comforted to feel another human’s warmth so close to him.
And she shared that so effortlessly. As if such kindness came second nature to her.
After all he had done…
She claimed it was the demon, but… had he not a similar desire towards her? That she would love him?
Perhaps he had truly gone insane at this point.
How could she love him?
Even without the demon he knew that he did not have much to offer her. He had… nothing really except for the demon.
Before the demon he was…
No one…
Would have died in some filthy hovel in a place long forgotten by history… his son taken before even him.
As cruel as the demon was… the world didn’t tend to be much nicer.
But she… she was kind… kinder than anyone had ever been to him…
She was also brave. So brave in dealing with the demon, doing her best to stand between him and the utter destruction that it would bring upon her friends and other people that she cared for.
So was it any wonder that he had come to adore her?
He let out a soft breath as he just gently allowed himself to feel her soft hair against his cheek.
Belle pondered a bit as she stared out in the room as a scary realization dawned upon her.
“Um… Rum…?” she then asked.
“Hm…?”
“I came to think of something… if I choose to go with the demon to… somewhere else… some other realm… perhaps something like the book… do you think I could keep it from harming people?”
Rum blinked his eyes slightly as he glanced down at her.
“Don’t…” he whispered.
“I am asking… if I go… if I do as it wants… will Storybrooke be safe…?” Belle asked again, this time, moving her way so that she could look him directly in the eyes.
Rum did not answer, breathing softly. “You do not know what you are asking…” he whispered softly.
“Answer me! If I go with the demon… wherever he wants… will my friends… my town… be safe?”
Belle stared into Rums eyes and she observed how his features shifted, turning from that soft mournful gaze into a truly manic grin, those dark eyes gleaming as they stared into her blue ones.
“Of course.”
The Cursed book. Chapter 10
Chapter 10: Belle learns what a demon can do with his tongue(s).
Note: This chapter is creature smut. Very explicit creature smut. And coming from me... well... you should know what you are getting into.
Summary: When Belle finds a strange book in an abandoned library she has no idea what hell it would unleash upon the small town.
Rumplestiltskin carried her to the bedroom, resting her on the bed, as he looked down at her on those softly glowing eyes.
Before Belle’s eyes she could see her room turned back. It made her heart beat quicker as she felt the power which made her quiver. It was is if the entire world revolved around the both of them…
Again… the sensation of her being the only thing he saw in that moment…
That she was important… that she was desired… beyond everything.
She could not really deny that. Perhaps it was that wish that he saw within her… that he latched onto. And the reason that it had dug its claws so far into her…
It seemed as if there would be no way out for her… not one she could see now anyway. But there was also the fear that if she remained too long under the demon’s influence… she wouldn’t want to either.
Gently he lifted her hand to his lips, kissing the back of it, before turning it so that he could place a gentle kiss of her palm.
Slowly he continued to kiss down her arm… a gentle tingling sensation, spreading through her body. It made her feel… warm and it made her press her legs together as she breathed softly.
He was not impatient. He took his time as he moved, using his own body to press her down on the bed with his own body.
Belle let out a long shivering breath, her skin feeling so warm as she raised her head as she looked towards the ceiling.
Another gasp which was now more like a moan when she felt his teeth against her neck. A soft chuckle was heard from the demon when he noticed how her heart beat skipped.
“Don’t worry… again… I would never hurt you…” he murmured as he gently kissed across her collarbone.
“Though… I quite enjoy the taste of you…” again that soft rumble came from the demon’s throat. The arm which he wasn’t using to keep himself above her, his hand ran down her side, feeling the fabric of her top, continuing to move downwards.
Slowly he lifted the fabric upwards, so that his hand could brush against her soft skin. Belle felt her skin shiver.
“Your skin is so soft…” he whispered softly towards her, gently kissing her chin, once again unable to keep from scraping his teeth against her skin.
It didn’t hurt… a gentle tease.
He then proceeded to kiss down her neck gently, while continuing to stroke his teeth against her skin.
While the sensation was intoxicating, the lust within her was craving more!
Her leg wrapped around his, her skirt riding up her legs as she grinded her hips against his.
Surprising her she felt a clawed hand wrapping around her leg, lifting it slightly. There was some part of her which told her that she should not watch, her curiosity got the better of her.
Though her room had been light with the sunshine streaming in from the window it was now filled with an unnatural darkness, which seemed to stream from Rumplestiltskin’s back.
The only thing which she could see was only his upper body and the large boney claw which rested on her thigh.
Once again she was faced with just how utterly inhuman this demon was. How unnatural…
“How do you feel?”
His question was almost lost among the beating of her heart.
“I… I don’t know…” her voice trembled nervously. “It is… indescribable…”
She was scared… but… she couldn’t stop. She craved this… more than she could ever say…
Rumplestiltskin continued to caress her gently, moving further down, his body slipping slowly between her legs.
Belle’s hand was now up against lips, pressing against it, as if she was attempting to keep from letting out the indecent moans rising in her throat.
He seemed to know what she was trying to do, and it greatly amused him. Slowly he glanced to her thigh, where he started to continue to gentle kiss her thigh.
The sensation was so mingled in her mind… his hands… his lips… those clawed limbs… the shadow which seemed to caress her skin.
It made her tremble.
“Rum…” she moaned. Slowly he moved his fingers up towards her panties, feeling how wet she had become. His hand then moved upwards, starting to pull them down slightly.
Belle felt a sense of almost panic as she grabbed his hair, those soft graying strands were soft between her fingers.
He paused as he glanced up at her, murmuring softly.
“You wish me to stop?” he asked, taking the time to lick her thigh gently as those dark eyes looked up at her face.
Belle attempted to keep her breathing under control, looking down at him, seeing how those demonic limbs was emerging from the darkness which gently caressed her legs. Those claws which no doubt could dig through human flesh like butter if he wanted to… but he was so gentle.
It was…
Strange…
Again… the demon was far more dangerous than any mortal threat… but he… desired her… wanted her… wanted to take care of her and fulfill all her desires…
Belle knew that it was wrong, but she could not keep from being absolutely enchanted by it.
Slowly her grip loosened on his hair, giving him a slight nod.
“I want to hear you say it…” his voice was a low tease.
Belle’s cheek was absolutely flushed, it made her feel absolutely… embarrassed.
She breathed softly, trying to calm her beating heart enough that she could speak.
“Please… please… I want it…”
A big smile spread across his face as he got her permission.
“As you wish…”
His head went slightly lower, so that she could not see him, but a loud gasp made its way through her lips, as she felt his tongue press against her heated sex, him having slowly pulled down her panties to her thighs.
His tongue continued to explore her, Belle’s mind was in such ecstasy from the pleasure, but she was certain that his tongue was far longer than it should be.
Her legs jerked with the sensation of something entering her…
“Rum…” her mouth made a soft moan as she continued to grind her hip. It was then she was felt… as second… tongue… brush against her clit, even as the first one was gently moving inside her.
Once again she grasped around his hair, but she didn’t have the strength to get him away… if that was even what she wanted…
It was.. too much…
Her moans became louder as her back arched.
At this point the pleasure was such that she thought she was going to pass out… but then there was this release which made her practically collapse on the bed.
The darkness withdrew inside Rumplestiltskin again as he moved upwards again, resting his head on her stomach, being careful as he watched how she was still gasping for breath, a very satisfied grin on his lips.
“No human can do that, now can they?” he asked, utterly pleased with himself.
“No… no they can’t…” Belle had to give him that. This only made him seem prouder of his accomplishment.
“Any time dearest… I will do my outmost to pleasure you… fully… deeply… as I have said… I may not understand love yet… but lust… ooh… lust I am very good at,” he grinned amused. Belle could only really lay there and breathe, barely nodding.
Rumple smiled towards her, before he sat himself up, stretching his body. “I will go to get you something to eat… pick up a treat. I will see you soon.”
He lifted up her hand and placed a kiss on it, before he left the room.
Belle was feeling sticky with sweat, feeling that she had to have a shower… but her legs were still feeling as if they would never be able to carry her weight. She was just going to… lay there for five minutes…
So she allowed her eyes to close, before she practically passed out on the bed.
The Cursed book. Chapter 13
Chapter 13: The demon offers Belle to speak with the man that he is possessing.
Summary: When Belle finds a strange book in an abandoned library she has no idea what hell it would unleash upon the small town.
---
There was a deafening silence after the demon had said its words, none of the humans aware of the situation able to even speak.
Emma was absolutely stunned at what she had just seen… realizing that everything Neal had told her was true… and the horrifying implication of that fact…
Belle was still shivering, not even feeling the globs of saliva on her from that… thing… as there was a shock of having seen the man that the demon held captive. That was the only word she could really think about using…
Captive.
She could also not imagine the horror of having something else use your body in any way it wished, leaving you with no control… and yet… that was reality for this man… and had been for…
Centuries?
That had to be some definition of hell…
Meanwhile Neal just looked… broken…
After all these centuries… believing that he had been doing good in keeping the demon locked up… that he was actively saving people. The reason he had to live for so damn long…
It had been useless…
Everything he had done was because this demon had played along… like some… game. It was like when he was young and he had pretended to tie his father to his chair and that he could not move. Of course he could get out, but his father had played along… even used the time to get a nap in while his son was distracted with being proud of having been able to trap him.
All those things that he had done… had been for naught.
Sure… in their game he had most likely saved plenty of lives, but in this moment, he even doubted that fact.
It could be that the demon had feasted on countless lives that he was not aware of… simply pretending to be in the book.
After all… it could alter perceptions so… could he even trust his own mind?
Everything he had believed… everything he had experienced… every memory…
Was ANY of it true?
He felt like he was about to throw up.
The demon glanced around at them, almost as if it did not understand their shocked reactions.
“Well…” Rumplestiltskin said as he glanced around, blinking slightly, before he let out a long breath. “How about we take a break… and meet for dinner later?”
“Dinner?” Neal said with a low tone.
“You have to eat Bae, and do not worry, I am on a non-human diet. Belle also has an issue with that,” the demon cocked his head slightly.
“For how long?” Neal simply asked.
“Well…” Rumplestiltskin paused a bit, shrugging his shoulders gently. “Let us just take it one day at the time.”
“How can we even trust anything you say?” Neal pressed on. The demon let out a long sigh.
“I suppose you cannot,” he then said with a soft tone. “But you need rest… as I said, me not possessing your father’s body is really not good for you and we are both concerned about your well being. Could you not at least calm his mind by going to rest?”
Neal clearly was blinking back tears with the demon mentioning how his father worried, making himself swallow nervously.
“I…” he muttered.
“There is a reservation at the inn for you and your girlfriend. I think you have to have a conversation with your girlfriend as… well… she is looking a tad shaken… I don’t think she has closed her mouth since she saw me,” Rumplestiltskin then continued, pointing at Emma who closed her mouth still staring at him wide eyed.
Neal simply nodded his head, swallowing nervously.
“Now that is solved, how about we meet back here around… six? Then we can decide on where to eat? Sounds good?” the demon did not even wait for a response, turning towards Belle, wrapping his arm around her waist.
“How about we go home in the meantime?” he grinned towards her. “You have a little something… just stand still…”
He pulled out his handkerchief to dry a bit of the saliva off her cheek.
“Sorry about that… the whole mass of teeth and no lips has the consequence of… well… I am sure you are well aware,” he gave a bit of an apologetic grin, though Belle thought it sounded like he was more proud of it than anything.
She took a look back at Neal and Emma… it was clear they needed time so she simply nodded.
“Let us… let us go home then…” she did not address his words, simply walked towards her home, the demon eagerly following her.
Emma was just about able to break free from her stupor to rest her hand on Neal’s shoulder.
“Hey…” she swallowed nervously. “Are you…”
She did not even finish that sentence, because how could he be? How could he be alright after all of… this?
Neal closed his eyes and simply shook his head.
“No…” he said. “But… let us just… go to that inn… and after that…”
He hid his face and let out a long groan.
“Fuck if I know…”
Emma simply nodded, her mind was still reeling, but even so she could see that Neal was about to collapse.
“Yeah…” she simply nodded, wrapping her arm around his and they started to walk towards the inn.
Belle exited the shower, her washing machine softly humming in the background, as she proceeded to brush her brown hair out.
She had wondered if washing them was even worth it, or if demon drool just ruined clothes outright.
But… as she liked the outfit… she figured it was worth it…
Unless demon drool also ruined the washing machine…
Belle’s forehead thumped against the mirror before he let out a long sigh.
How she wished that she had never gone to gather up those books… just… forgotten all about the old abandoned library…
She should have known that there was a good reason for it to have been abandoned…
But… would it have changed?
Perhaps the demon would have broken out on its own and… would Storybrooke even exist at this point?
Would this demon even think twice about eating her?
This was terrifying… she really could not believe that she was actually thinking about this…
That all of this was… insane.
She took a deep breath, as she finished getting herself dressed, not knowing how long the demon had the patience for her to be alone.
Her hair was still damp, but she left that to air dry.
Wandering out into the kitchen, she smelled chocolate, seeing that the demon was standing by a pot and stirring softly.
“Want some chocolate dearest?” he looked towards her.
“Um… alright… yeah… that sounds good…” she stuttered.
He gave her a gentle smile, before he nodded his head softly. “Sit down on the couch then, it will be ready in a moment.”
Belle blinked slightly, finding that the demon was being… odd…
But then again… she supposed that she shouldn’t expect anything from the demon at this point. In some way he was truly unpredictable.
Sitting down on the coach she only waited a couple of moments, before the demon came over, placing the largest cup he could find in her cabinet in front of her.
“It is very good,” he encouraged her, as he drank his own… taking no notice that the liquid was burning hot…
Not that Belle really expected demons to take notice of such things…
“You sure you are not hurting… you know… him, by drinking it so hot?” she stuttered forth.
The demon cocked his head slightly, before he let out a low chuckle and shook his head.
“Oh no. Any damage that I do to this body I heal. I mean… you saw the rather unpleasant possession process. If I weren’t able to heal the body… well… I would have killed him the first time I possessed him,” he said.
“But… does he feel pain… even if you don’t?” she asked. Belle had become rather concerned about the fate of the man who had given his body to this demon.
The demon continued to observe her closely.
“How about you speak to him yourself? You do seem to have a lot of questions,” the demon offered.
Belle blinked her eyes confused.
“Uh… you will let me do that?” she stuttered forth.
“Of course, I want you two to get to know each other! I love you, I love him and I love Neal, and my greatest wish is for you to also love each other,” the demon explained. “I have tried to convince him to speak to you, but he was rather ashamed with… well… he has some moral qualms about everything that we have put you through. Don’t be harsh on him, he is a bit shy,”
Belle still was utterly confused.
“Uh… I will be gentle…” she then managed to stutter out nervously.
The demon grinned, as he nodded his head. “I know you will, you are very kind.”
“Thank you… but what about… you know… Neal… that was pretty rough…” she swallowed nervously.
“Oh… well. That is because he always insists on me exiting the body when they are having a talk… worrying that I will influence his father’s words or pretend to be him and all that…” he made a slight hand movement. “You know what they say, once burnt, twice shy.”
Belle swallowed. “So… not that.”
“No, I will simply… step back for a while and let him speak,” he said. “It doesn’t hurt and since I am still possessing him, it still counts as part of the deal.”
Belle nodded her head. “Alright… that is good… don’t want anyone to be hurt.”
Rumplestiltskin leaned forward and gave her a kiss on her forehead gently.
“So kind,” he praised her with a smile. “Well… I will step out so… speak to you later Belle.”
Belle’s eyes widened as she saw Rumplestiltskin’s body being forced forward and something made its way out of his upper back, from the area between his shoulders to be exact.
It was like a black ooze which grew forth, until it took the features of the demonic face she had seen not long before.
After a few moments more the man took a deep breath as he sat himself up, the demonic growth looking like it had more perched itself on his shoulders, especially with two of its clawed hands resting upon his shoulders.
Belle sat there slack jawed for a moment, before she managed to regain her ability to speak.
“Are you… are you alright?” she stuttered forth.
The possessed man let out a long groan. “I think alright is a very strong word…”
“I… I didn’t expect it would hurt… he said it wouldn’t!” she wondered if she should do something, or if it would just make things worse.
He shook his head. “No… it doesn’t exactly hurt… just… been awhile since I have actually been in control. It honestly takes some getting used to…”
Belle swallowed slightly. “Do you… do you want to go back?”
The man sighed. “I don’t even know… but I figure that trying to hide is no longer an option… I am so sorry Belle… for all that we have done to you…”
Belle firmly shook her head.
“That was not your fault,” she said firmly.
“Perhaps not… but I proceeded to hide and I didn’t do more to stop it…” he put his head in his hands.
Belle bit her lip before she reached out towards him and allowed her hand to rest upon his shoulders… even if she was careful not to touch the demon itself.
“I don’t blame you…” she whispered softly.
“I was not just some… passenger either… I too found you… beautiful… I was drawn to you and… I don’t know how much that affected… everything…” he still did not dare to look at her.
Belle was not entirely sure about how she should think about all of this, but then determinedly shook her head.
“I still don’t blame you still… after all… if your thoughts influenced the demon… then you have saved my life… made it not eat me the moment I was foolish enough to let it out of that book… I might very well be alive because of you,” she pointed out.
The man blinked his eyes slightly.
“You are much too kind…” he then said in a low voice.
“I wouldn’t think too highly of me if I were you… but I still think that we have plenty to talk about…” she gave him a hesitant smile.
“Go ahead… ask me any question you want, I owe you that much at least,” he glanced towards her.
Belle had a million questions running through her mind, until her mind finally settled on one:
“What is your name?”
The Cursed book. Chapter 12
Chapter 12: Neal is reunited with the demon and his father and learns about how dire the situation truly is.
Summary: When Belle finds a strange book in an abandoned library she has no idea what hell it would unleash upon the small town.
---
Belle had practically been dragged through most of Storybrooke it felt like by the demon. Not that there was much of an issue when it came to that, because no one seemed to notice them. Another part of the demon’s power, she figured. However… now her arm and legs were getting rather tired.
All of the sudden the demon seemed to find what he was looking for.
“There he is!” he pointed toward a bit of a scruffy looking young man who was standing next to a blond woman. Belle noticed that they acted… a bit different… than the rest of the people around.
Because they were unaffected by the demon’s powers.
“BAE!” the demon exclaimed and not letting go of Belle he hugged the man who seemed to brace himself against impact.
“Ugh…” the young man groaned as his father slammed into him. “Hi dad…”
“It has been so long! I have missed you! What have you been up to?” Rumplestiltskin’s questions came quickly as he let go, but had a hold of the young man’s arm.
Belle had to admit she was rather confused about what was going on. He had told her about his son… or… the son of the man the demon was inhabiting.
“Ah, Bae, let me introduce you to Belle, I love her!” Rumplestiltskin was excitedly mentioning towards her. “Or… well… we are on it… the human dating things are rather… confusing, but… it has been fun so far.”
Neal glanced rather confused over at Belle… she looked like a normal human.
“Uh… nice to meet you,” he nodded towards her.
“Same…” Belle swallowed.
“So… how did you two meet?” Neal had to ask.
“She let me out of the book, and since then we have gotten rather close!” Rumple was quick to say.
“So… she let you out…” Neal began.
“I didn’t know!” Belle felt the need to defend herself.
“She really didn’t… you know how I am quite good at the whole… tricking humans into doing that,” Rumple shrugged his shoulders.
“Yeah… that is not the part which is surprising me… the fact that she is alive is… you tend to… eat the ones that let you out,” Neal continued, trying to speak carefully, so that he wouldn’t freak this woman out… but he had a feeling she knew already.
“Well… she was different… something… drew me to her… which is why I decided to… not do the usual charade. She isn’t quite comfortable with the whole...” he leaned closer to the young man. “... eating people bit…”
Rumple made a slight innocent grimace.
“That explains why there are so many people left…” Neal looked around. No doubt this Belle had saved a lot of people.
Emma stood there just watching this conversation go on as she shook her head in disbelief.
“This is insane, you are aware of this right?!” she had to exclaim. Rumplestiltskin’s attention was then drawn to her, cocking his head slightly.
“Now who is this? I mean… I sensed that you were with someone this time,” he said with a soft tone as he looked Emma up and down. Emma felt the need to take a step back as there was an unnatural glow behind them.
It was… an inhumanity to them which she really did not like.
“Yeah… this is Emma, she is my girlfriend,” Neal explained.
“Emma…” Rumplestiltskin grinned. “Been a long time since you have brought a girlfriend to meet me.”
“Well… hard to explain with the whole… demon thing…” Neal sighed.
“I suppose that is true…” the demon shrugged his shoulders. “Very nice to meet you Emma!”
Neal simply stepped between his father and his girlfriend.
“You have to go back into the book,” Neal said with a firm tone. A practically vicious grin spread across Rumple’s face, Belle feeling as if her heart was about to drop down into her stomach.
“Now… that is not going to be possible…” he then said.
“What do you mean? Where is it?!” Neal was getting a bit desperate.
“Well…” the demon dragged out the word. “Belle might have made a bit of a mistake… it is not her fault exactly she didn’t know better. I seem to have scared her a bit when I first spoke to her after I got out from the book, so…”
Neal looked at Belle with wide eyes. “What did you do?”
“I… I burned it…” Belle let out with a slight whimper in her voice. Neal’s soul looked like it had left his body at this point.
“You burned it?!”
“I didn’t know! I thought it would get rid of him! That is how it usually goes in the stories!” she exclaimed.
“I tried to tell her not to do it… but… she didn’t listen to me…” the demon could not hide that satisfied grin on his lips.
Belle felt her stomach turn again. “I… I thought he was lying…”
Neal was now clutching his head, letting out a desperate groan. “That was our only way to contain him! Now…”
“Well… it wasn’t perfect, I still got out rather often,” Rumplestiltskin shrugged his shoulders.
“But at least there would be a couple of decades between each time you got out!” Neal exclaimed. “And if I found you quickly enough I could…”
He didn’t finish the sentence, just going to his knees for a moment.
“Bae…”
For a moment Belle imagined that she could hear genuine remorse in the demon’s voice. It was clear the last thing he wanted was to hurt this man… but…
He did.
And she imagined he had done so for a long time.
Emma clutched the shoulders of her boyfriend, trying to show that she was there for him, even if she was still unsure of what was going on.
“So… we cannot get the genie back in the bottle it seems…” she swallowed.
“Eh… demon, not genie,” Rumplestiltskin felt the need to point out.
“Turn of phrase,” Belle whispered to Rumplestiltskin as he was still holding her hand.
“Ah… well… I just think there is quite a big difference between…” the demon then noticed how the rest looked at him.
“Suppose it is not a big deal…” he then shrugged his shoulder.
“I need to speak with my father…” Neal’s voice broke through as they all looked at the man standing himself up tall again.
“I am right here Bae,” the demon pointed towards himself.
“Not you, my real father,” Neal bit back at the demon, the anger for this malevolent entity showing in his face. Rumplestiltskin cocked his head.
“As you wish… Let me fetch him for you.”
Neal shook his head.
“No… I want to speak with him, WITHOUT you,” his teeth was grinding together in order to keep his voice from trembling.
The demon let out a long sigh.
“Bae…” his voice was lacking that jovial tone, which sent a chill down Belle’s back. “That is not good for you.”
“You do as I say!” Neal remained firm.
“As you wish son… but don’t take too long,” the demon’s eyes turned black as an agonized scream came from Rumplestiltskin’s mouth as it stretched almost impossibly wide as an oozing black smoke poured forth.
It was a horrifying thing to see this massive blackness of a demon make its way out of the body of a human, long clawed limbs digging their claws into the pavement with those three eyes staring down at them over several sets of salivating jaws.
Most of its body was too dark to see any features and it practically blocked out the sun once it finally left the poor man’s body who collapsed on the ground shivering.
“Holy shit…”
It was all Emma could say as she stared up at it.
Neal was clutching his chest, in clear agony, but reached out towards the man.
“PAPA!”
“I am sorry… I am so… so sorry…” the man whimpered.
“It is not your fault… it was never your fault!” Neal attempted to comfort his real father, who clutched his son close.
“I…” the man gasped as he looked up at Belle. “I am so sorry for what you have been put through… I…”
“It was my fault… I brought it forth… I burned the book… I…”
“No… it does that… it tricks you into thinking you are doing the right thing and then…” the man looked towards his son, who looked about ready to pass out.
“Bae?!”
“Neal?! What is happening to him?!” Emma grasped at Neal’s shoulder who was looking very pale.
“The deal…” the man… was that still Rumplestiltskin… or was that what the demon called itself? Belle wasn’t certain, and now was certainly not the time to find out. “It… it was that as long as the demon possessed me… Baelfire… my son would not die… and… it is not possessing me now…”
“He is dying…” the realization struck Emma deep, as she stared up in horror at the demon who was observing them closely.
“I… I can handle it…” Neal groaned.
“Bae… I should…” the man met the demon’s eyes.
“Not yet… I need to know… is the book truly gone?” Neal managed to get out. His father gave a shaky nod.
“Yes…” he swallowed.
“Have you learned about any other thing which can lock it away?!” Neal was clutching his chest.
“No. Bae… I… I am sorry…”
“Then what should we do? That was… that was our only…” Neal looked like he was about to pass out.
“I don’t… I don’t know… Bae… BAE?!”
It was clear that the young man was slipping. The man turned towards the demon who had been slowly running one of its black claws against Belle, having moved its infernal face close to the young woman.
It was a terrifying sight as those many jaws let down globs of saliva while two of those three eyes seemed to practically undress her. The last was watching what was going on.
“Belle…” the man caught her attention. “For all of this… I am sorry I dragged you into it…”
“I am sorry I destroyed everything…” she whispered, trying to keep herself from being pushed into one of those open maws. It seemed to be more… playing? rather than wanting to actually eat her.
The man then snapped his fingers to get the demon’s attention. “Get back inside now!”
The demon let out almost a huff, but gave Belle what she assumed was its attempt at a kiss with one of those drooling jaws before moving towards the man and turning mostly into smoke forced its way into the much smaller human body.
It looked… agonizing.
With the last part of the massive demon having pressed itself into a much smaller human body.
At once the demon had gotten inside, the man’s very countenance changed, he was straightening his back, more confident and intimidating from the man who had been nearly broken.
He moved his back, a wet snap being heard.
“Ngh… always such a tight fit…” he let out a slight sigh. The voice was the same, but the cadence had changed and the tone was darker than when the man had been speaking.
Neal took a deep breath, and it was clear that color was already returning to his cheeks.
“I told you that is not good for you,” he said with a soft tone.
“I…” Neal groaned as the demon helped him stand up, even straightening his hair slightly. “So… there is no way to lock you up anymore?”
The demon shrugged his shoulders slightly.
“There aren't many relics like that in the world anymore. Humanity spread all over and we… well we faded into the shadows… along with how to beat us I am afraid,” the demon explained with a shrugging of his shoulders. “Strange how humans forget huh?”
Neal looked practically defeated.
“So… there is no way to stop you?”
A wide grin spread across his father’s face as the demon inhabited his body leaned closer and whispered in the man’s ear.
“Never was.”
The Cursed book. Chapter 11
Chapter 11: Neal and Emma finally manages to find Storybrooke, the town which supposedly does not exist.
Summary: When Belle finds a strange book in an abandoned library she has no idea what hell it would unleash upon the small town.
---
Emma and Neal had been driving around for ages it felt like, before they found a small rest stop where both of them could stretch their legs.
“Neal. Let us go home! This place… this Storybrooke it doesn’t exist!” Emma exclaimed as she stretched her arms gently.
“So where did Ruby live then before moving to Boston?” Neal was leaning on one of the benches, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
Emma simply tossed up her hand, before letting out a sigh.
“Well… then we are lost!” she looked up towards the sky. “Or… we heard it wrong… or… well she could have lied, I mean… I don’t exactly believe that, but this place… it is not around. No one has heard about it even! It is not on any map! How does that actually happen?!”
“I told you… it is how the demon works…” Neal sighed. “And we are close… I can feel it…”
“We have been driving around pretty long time on your feeling…” Emma groaned, before she sat herself next to him.
Neal laughed softly towards her.
“Well…” he then sighed. “I suppose you are right about that… I hoped I wouldn’t have to do this…”
“Why not?” Emma had to ask, there was a tone in Neal’s voice which caused her to be a bit on edge. Neal made a face.
“He is going to know that we are coming for him,” he then admitted.
“Your father?” Emma questioned it confused.
“Him too, but I was mostly referring to the demon,” he was quick to explain. Emma just shook her head.
“Is that not bad…?” Emma questioned.
“Mmm… could be,” Neal made a face to show he was considering it.
“… well then… do it…” Emma was not able to believe him as yet.
“Yeah… we are sort of out of options, you are right…” he glanced up towards the sky.
“Hey! Dad, it is me, Baelfire! Coming to see you,” he then said in a rather loud voice which caused the few visitors to glance at them. Emma was about to ask what on earth he was doing before he was pointing at something. When Emma turned around she saw a sign which had all of the sudden appeared out of nowhere, with the name ‘Storybrooke 30 miles’ and the arrow pointing down the road.
“That wasn’t there before!” she exclaimed.
“Nah… most likely didn’t exist before this moment either… or if it exists at all… we might just imagine it,” he said with a sigh as he shrugged his shoulders.
Emma just sputtered confused struggling to come to terms with the fact that this might actually be real.
“Yeah… he does that…” he muttered. “The demon… the whole… changing your perceptions… or perception of the reality…”
Emma just shook her head. “This is insane!”
Neal nodded his head softly. “Yeah… it is.”
“Also… Baelfire?” Emma had to ask as they were walking back to the car.
“Mhm… it is my name,” he said as he got in the driver seat of the car with Emma sitting herself in the passenger side.
“I thought Neal Cassidy was your name…”
“Had co change it a couple of times… imagine if I were to go by that now? People would look at me funny,” he shrugged as he got the car in drive and drove down the road the sign was pointing.
Belle was woken as she felt something practically leap on the bed with her. As her eyes opened she found herself staring into the demon’s very excited ones, in fact… he looked even more excited than usual… which Belle didn’t honestly think was possible.
“Belle! Belle! Belle!” he repeated over and over, nudging at her.
“… I… I am up…” she stuttered, thinking that it was a bit nervous what had gotten the demon so excited. “What… what is happening?”
She really dreaded that answer.
“Baelfire is coming!”
That didn’t answer anything for Belle and he shook her head nervously.
“Uh… who is Baelfire?” she had to ask.
“Our son,” Rumplestiltskin quickly noticed that she was utterly confused by what he was saying so he let out a soft laugh.
“No, not ours as in ours… you and me I mean, I mean ours as in me and him,” he mentioned to himself.
It took a moment for Belle to realize just what was happening, but realizing that he was speaking about the human he was possessing.
She swallowed nervously, but she tired to hide it.
“So… why is he coming?” she had to ask.
“Most likely to get me back into the book… which… well that is going to be a bit difficult now isn’t it?” Rumplestiltskin cocked her head.
Belle swallowed, once again feeling absolutely dreadful about the mistake that she had done when she burned the book, leaving them with seemingly nothing to trap the demon and keep him from eating something.
She could only hope that this son would know how to deal with the demon outside of that.
That was the only hope that she had to get out of the situation that she had put herself in.
“So… uh… do you know when he is coming?” she was rubbing sleep out of her eyes. Rumplestiltskin shrugged his shoulders.
“Not sure, but it won’t be long!” he was practically dragging her out of bed, Belle just having to stumble after him. “So we have to get ready!”
Belle just went along with it… again, it wasn’t eating people so… it could be worse. A lot worse…
“We… we drove down the road so many times… but… this wasn’t here!” Emma exclaimed as they had been driving down the road and saw the town of Storybrooke in the distance.
“Yeah… I know… we just… didn’t see it… or… saw something that wasn’t this?” Neal had explained.
Emma’s confusion did not elevate.
Neal stopped the car slightly before the sign which said ‘Welcome to Storybrooke’, and he looked a bit nervously.
“Look… uh… when we cross the town line… it might be… bad…” he swallowed.
“Bad how?” Emma did not like the nervous look.
“It is a demon… that eats people… and when it gets bored it does worse things…” he sighed. “Usually it takes a bit long for that to happen and I doubt it has gotten so far… but… it can be still bad…”
Emma glanced ahead.
“Uh… it doesn’t seem like…” she swallowed. “We… we… we cannot really know because… it is like with the sign and the town…”
Neal nodded his head.
“Yeah…” he then nodded his head. “Like that.”
“That is… that is messed up…” Emma muttered stunned.
“Yeah…” he nodded slowly. “Uh… look… there was a motel not far from here, if you don’t want to go with… I totally understand. I will be back soon…” Neal said as he continued to look ahead with a uneasy look on his face.
Emma shook her head determined. “No… I am going with. You said I am safe right?”
“The demon… well he sees himself as my other father… or… what he thinks a father should be like…” Neal sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he steeled himself.
“That is…” Emma swallowed, moving her fingers through a bit of hair. “Messed up.”
It was really the only words which came to her mind about this situation.
Neal could only agree, nodding his head softly. “Yeah… been messed up for several centuries… but… let us just deal with it… get him back into the book and we can be back to Boston…”
“Alright… suppose that is a plan…” she said as he pressed the petal as they crossed the town line.
As the yellow beetle was rolling through town, Emma and Neal noticed that it was quite… normal. In fact it seemed like any normal town with people milling about, some casting a glance at the yellow car, but other than that, seemed like just another day.
“Uh… would have almost expected something… you know… just something!” Emma said as she looked around.
Neal looked confused as well.
“I mean… it could be that I found him early this time… after all I doubted he would let Ruby done if he was… in the end of the cycle…” he got out of the car. Emma did as well.
“So… why do you think he did that?” she asked.
“I don’t know. He has never done it before… perhaps it was to get to me… but I doubt that… I mean… why not just… come to Boston?” Neal asked.
“I mean… Ruby said that she met her friend… this Belle… and he was her date where she was handed money…” Emma tried to remember the conversation that they had with Ruby before they rushed to leave. “Uh… have your father, I mean… the demon dated before…?”
Neal looked downright horrified at the prospect of the demon actually dating.
“No! He has never done something like that!” he shook his head.
“So… what do you figure he is doing?” Emma asked as they walked around a bit, she feeling a bit uneasy. Sure… it looked normal… but… she could not shake the feeling that something was off…
Neal shrugged his shoulders. “No idea… it is so hard to know… but it is… just a mess…”
Emma continued to glance around.
“I have to say… you seem pretty… calm… I don’t think I would be if my father was possessed by a demon and ate people,” it really was no better way of saying it.
Neal just let out a long sigh. “Well… been so long… after a while you just… deal.”
Emma furrowed her brows.
“I still cannot believe the fact that you are… centuries old…” she still was not certain if she believed that, but so far… this was getting way too real as… something was clearly going on… and it seemed more and more like he was telling the truth… as insane as it sounded.
“Hmm… well… I look good for my age as I said, but… yeah… I feel it at times…”
Emma was about to ask more about it when she noticed him stiffening up noticing an older man with graying hair pulling a young brunette after him as he rushed over to them.
“Uh… so… that is…?” she had to ask.
“Yeah…” Neal said. “Brace yourself… it is going to be… interesting…”