Matchstick Girl

He was a brave man.

Why would he curse you?

You're father didn't curse me. I asked him to seal part of my soul away. He...he helped me.

#nealthethief #drabble

He was a brave man.

What the hell for?

#nealthethief #the irony of using a gif of an actress who played as a vampire

Your father placed a spell on me sealing part of my soul away, and no, I don't want revenge. I just wish to reverse it. I need the blood of Rumpelstiltskin, but seeing as he's moved on...

Look, it's not my intention to kill you. I only need a couple drops of blood to reverse the spell your father put on me.

He was a brave man.

What do you need?

I need your blood.

He was a brave man.

If this has to do with magic, I don’t have any.

No, no magic required...on your part anyway.

He was a brave man.

My father…never did things the right way…but I suppose it was all he knew.

Yes, sometimes a person will resort to the darkest of places to achieve what they want...

Baelfire, I need to ask you for a favor. Even though you don't know me personally, I need you to help me with something; something only the son of the Dark One can do.

He was a brave man.

What did he say?

I knew Rumpelstiltskin in the Enchanted Forest, he never went into any depth, but you could tell something was missing in his life; something very important. And no matter what terrible things he did or was going to do, it was all for one purpose: to get whatever he had lost back.

He was a brave man.

You’ve heard about me?

More or less, you're father spoke of you often.

He was a brave man.

Ne…I mean Baelfire. Rumplestiltskin was my father.

Ah, so you're Baelfire? It's a pleasure to meet the son of Rumpelstiltskin, I've heard good things about you.

He was a brave man.

I see…well he knew a lot of people.

May I inquire as to who you are?

#nealthethief

He was a brave man.

Yeah…who are you?

I'm Vibeka Blamst, Rumpelstiltskin and I were acquainted back in the day.

#nealthethief

He was a brave man.

So Rumpelstiltskin has died.

#nealthethief

Into the woods...

Keb wondered whether she should be relieved that Vibeka didn’t really want to harm Anastasia. How much could she trust this woman? The thought that perhaps she should have left Jean to perish after the storm traced blackly across her mind; she tried to shake it off, physically, shaking her head.

"And just who is that?" she asked. If she could get the information, then she could warn others, even if she wasn’t capable of stopping Vibeka.

Vibeka smiled sweetly as she tsked her finger back and forth, "Spoilers, princess. My plans don't involve any of you or your friends. I suggest you move on, unless you want to be the cause of another tragedy. No need to bring innocent people into the equation am I right?"

With that Vibeka began to walk away as flames engulfed her and she vanished from the forest.

Into the woods...

Keb felt a little overwhelmed as Vibeka gestured at her ball. That was a secret she tried hard to keep, since it had once been her undoing. She swallowed hard, though she was attempting to portray strength and fearlessness.

"You threatened Anastasia," Keb said quietly. Her hand drifted a little ways away from the ball, but not so far that it was out of reach. "Who else do you intend to harm?" She felt a lot less confident, now that her plan had been so quickly exposed, that she could stop whatever creature was standing in front of her; Vibeka knew her thoughts somehow, and yet was entirely unafraid.

Vibeka didn't speak for a length of time, rather memories of her life in the Enchanted Forest resurfaced as she reminisced in the past. Then her thoughts eventually returned to the present and the twenty years she had spent imprisoned within her own mind. Unable to speak out loud, even after the Curse was lifted, Vibeka had remained silent for so long and apparently that time in solitude had gotten to her head.

Finally she acknowledged Keb's inquiry.

"A bluff, I wasn't being honest when I said that. I'm afraid it was a slip of the tongue to enhance the moment, considering I had just awakened. Besides, those dramatic openings are to die for." Vibeka laughed.

"Don't get me wrong, I still intend to rid myself of Jean, but the rest of you I have no business with. There is only one I wish to speak with and potentially do harm to."

Into the woods...

Keb stood her ground as Vibeka approached, though one leg shifted to take a step back before she forced herself to stay put. She knew she’d told Jean a bit about herself, but she hadn’t said all this, had she? Her own life had been so crazy in the interim that she couldn’t recall. “How do you know all this?” she whispered, flinching at Vibeka’s touch on her wrist. Her eyes were wary as she gazed at the younger woman.

She wasn’t going to give in to the darkness, though. It would be easy…but she wouldn’t do it. Her lips pressed together in resolve.

"You're not the only one with tricks up her sleeves, though you're trick comes in a ball - this ball in particular." Vibeka gestured to the one hidden at Keb's side. She released the brunette's arm and tracked back as her eyes scanned the scenery.

"Were you planning to imprison me?" She asked, but didn't wait for an answer. "Of course you were, that is something you do after all. If it had come down to it, you would have; especially if it meant protecting so many innocent lives." Vibeka laughed softly, closing her eyes as she inhaled deeply.

"I can almost picture myself in the Enchanted Forest, if only, but I'm afraid I have things to do before I return to that world."

nan-troublemaker

#gallery

#dark Jean still here

Into the woods...

It sent a chill down Keb’s spine, how casually Vibeka said that she’d killed her own father. Keb shuddered as she remembered that she was responsible for her own parents’ deaths—and the image of their dying expressions flashed across her mind. Hot tears found her eyes, and she was fighting for the calm she knew she’d need if she were to deal with Vibeka. The darkness inside her was welling up, the despair that kept swallowing her whole.

"You weren’t evil before?" she managed to say through her thickening throat.

Vibeka could sense the tension in the air, though it amused her how Keb fought the darkness in her heart, though she didn't say a word about it because she did empathize with her struggle. After all, she had undergone the same tribulation in her time. For that similarity alone, Vibeka's eyes and voice softened as she spoke.

"No, I wasn't. I was an ordinary girl with an ordinary life, well, as normal as the Enchanted Forest goes. I had a loving grandmother until she died, leaving me with my abusive father. Then on a cold winter night, as I lay creeping closer to death with every falling snowflake, something inside me changed. The next thing I knew the entire village where I lived was being consumed by flames and I stood at the base of my father's bed as he himself was engulfed in flames."

Approaching Keb, though not so close considering they weren't exactly friends.

"Despite what people may think, there is always another side to every story. You know this very well, just as I know that it wasn't entirely your fault that Anura came to ruin." Vibeka placed a hand on Keb's wrist that was reaching for her ball, not forcefully but firmly, as she suddenly appear in front of her.

"So, I suggest you forgive yourself and your past mistake. Though you were a child, you have felt guilty for all these years. Stop feelings sorry about it, and instead make up for it. Be the queen your parents dreamed for you to become. The fact you're fighting the darkness inside you is valiant, but you'll never win unless you stop resisting and just accept it. Accept yourself and who you are, then the darkness won't be a problem anymore."