I do not own any of the characters from the TV show Once Upon A Time. I simply got the urge to write about an original character who is a bit darker than my usual brand of misguided misfits. Plus, I think this type of character would be an awesome addition.
So here is a "one-shot wonder" I came up with only a few minutes ago.
A Price
Mr. Gold’s pawnshop was a dark mess
of wanted things. The red haired teenager looked around the dim room. She knew
some of the objects better than Rumplestiltskin did. She’d been the one to
strike those deals, after all. Petty little children’s toys that sat within glass
cases. Practice cases from when she was small.
The door’s bell rang as someone
else entered and the girl ducked behind the shelves, waiting to see whom it
was. An auburn haired young woman with a red ribbon holding her hair back
closed the door. The woman walked past all of the items in the store and to the
back room. The girl followed her on light footsteps, her boots not making a
single sound.
The girl watched the woman leave a
package on the kitchen table, a book from the size and shape. The woman smelled
like books. A librarian maybe, she had seen a library in the town on her way to
Mr. Gold’s Pawn Shoppe. Using the back door, the woman left and the girl was
free to explore.
Upstairs there were three bedrooms,
only one of them being used. So the woman didn’t sleep here, although the
second bedroom was clearly decorated for a woman. The girl could see Rumple’s
design in every object. He never left anything to chance. He was meticulous
down to the last detail. Except, the girl noted, for a shadow of dust on the
bedside table. A cup had rested there for a long time before it was moved. The
old man was getting soft. Perhaps it had something to do with that woman who
left the book. What she wouldn’t trade to see what that book was.
Rumple always said that her
curiosity would be her downfall.
The third bedroom was decorated for
a child. A boy. Of course, Rumple had forgotten all about her. He didn’t want
to remember her. No one remembered her anyway. She was a failed deal. She was
supposed to have been kept hidden away, and she hadn’t been. The magic she had
been cursed with marked her, as it had Rumple.
He had a son once, when he was
still a coward. He never could just let things go, always had to carry a
grudge, always had to get revenge. He was clever though, more so than Regina. He
was clever enough to have turn a broken deal into a device, his own little spy.
His errand runner. His deal maker. Everything but biological.
She crept back down to the shop to
have a second look. There must be a few things of hers lying around someplace.
Her knife, for instance. She could survive anything with that strapped inside
her boot. Swords were so bulky and untrustworthy. Knives learnt you the way you
learnt them, and worked with you as the best extension of your arm. Maybe her
darts were around here as well. A girl could never be too careful.
She was so engrossed in her search
that her ears pricked up a second too late. Treasure hunting was a weakness.
“Looking for something, dearie?”
His voice was so much less insane here, like he actually had control of
himself. Would he even recognize her now? She turned around and tilted her
head, smiling at his surprised eyes.
“Hello dad.”
“Jinx.” The name scorched her, but
she didn’t show it, there was power in every name.
“I’m hurt.” She simpered. “Are we
at the name-calling stage already?” Jinx ran her fingers over a glass-domed
clock. “Should I give you your name?”
“No need for that.” His voice was
so much calmer it almost unsettled her. She knew, how well she knew, that he’d
giver her anything to not use his name. “What do I call you now?”
“Wylie will suffice.” She slid onto
the counter and crossed her legs, noticing the flinch he gave. He leaned on a
cane. Wylie wondered how much magic he still had in this world. “A woman left a
package for you in the kitchen. Nice place you’ve got now.”
The door opened and the auburn
haired woman came back inside, “Rumplestilt-“ She paused, getting a first look
at the red haired youth sitting on the counter as if she’d been there all her
life. “Who’s this?”
“Wylie Gold, I think.” The girl
turned her head to Gold, who gave the briefest of nods. “Pleased to meet you.” Oh
yes, the old man did have a soft spot. Wylie wondered what would happen if this
woman knew Rumple’s real name.
“Belle,” The woman provided. “Are
you two related?” Belle’s gaze flickered between the two. They didn’t look much
alike.
“Belle,” Mr. Gold stepped between
the two women and placed his free hand on Wylie’s shoulder. He would have to
recognize her now. “This is my adopted
daughter, Wylie.”
Of course not biological, she was never
biological. Never accepting responsibility for the fault that was his. He’d pay
in time.
After all, magic always comes with
a price.
