𝑶𝑪𝑬𝑨𝑵 𝑬𝒀𝑬𝑺 - Rumplestiltskin [1]

FIFTY THREE

53|HENRY

"Oh, yes. You were quite right to call me." Rumpel nodded as he looked at the burn on Henry's hand. Celeste sipped her coffee, squinting at the burn with confusion.

"So, you can help?" Henry asked as he placed his hand back in his lap. "It was just a dream?"

"Well, what you're describing is certainly not a dream." He began to explain to the boy.

"Then what was it?" Regina questioned, her motherly instincts kicking in over her injured son.

"A side effect." Rumpel stated. "You know, it's remarkable you'd cast a curse you know so little about."

"My victims are not supposed to wake up." She snapped back. "So I certainly never cared what happened to them after. Until now."

Celeste snuck around the small group, turning on the kettle to make tea and hot chocolate. She subtly placed a cup of tea in front of the two adults and the hot chocolate in front of Henry.

"When people fall under a sleeping curse, the soul travels to a netherworld, where it resides until awoken." Rumpelstiltskin explained to everyone, smiling at his wife gratefully as she sat at the dining table. "Now, this world is between life and death. And it's very real. However, even when the curse is broken, sometimes, in sleep, the victims find their way back to that world. Victims like you."

"This other world is tormenting my son every time he sleeps." Regina walked over to the man, her hands on her son's shoulders with worry. "I want you to give him something that will keep him from going there."

"Well, I'm afraid that's not possible." He lifted up a glass vial, screwing it shut and dangled the necklace in front of the boy. "I can, however, provide you with something that will allow him to control his actions whilst in that world. And once one controls something, one no longer need fear it."

"A necklace?" Henry questioned with confusion.

"You wear this while you're sleeping." Rumpel explained to him. "Once you control the journey, the fear will stop. And then, you can come and go as you please."

"Everything comes at a price with you. What do you want for this?" Regina stopped her son from taking the necklace off the man.

"For a house call? You couldn't afford it." He mocked her. "But this is for Henry. This one's on me."

"Stay safe." Celeste cleaned up the mugs and kissed Henry's head good bye, smiling at his mother as the couple left the apartment. "Thank you."

"What for, love?" He asked as they wandered down the main street to his store.

"Not charging Henry." She smiled up at him. "The boys going through enough with his mother gone and a curse he wasn't part of being broken."

"Is that why you're mothering him even though he has Regina?" Rumpel questioned her, a strange look in his eyes.

"Can we have children one day?" Celeste surprised him with her question. "I've always wanted to be a mother."

"You want to have a family with me?" His eyes were wide as he watched her enter the store casually.

"Of course I do! I love you and I want a family." She smiled over her shoulder at him and wandered into the back of the store, turning on the kettle for her millionth cup of tea.

"Cel." He sighed, following after her and cupping her cheek. "It's too crazy to start a family but once everything has settled, I want a family with you."

"Thank you." She kissed his lips delicately before deepening the kiss, her hands going behind his head to pull him in closer. He dropped his cane to wrap his arms around her waist, pulling her body against his. "We can always practise? After tea."

"You must always have your tea first." Be chuckled, letting her go and limping to his desk, sitting down and watching her calm down.

"Tea is the only thing giving me life at this point." Celeste sighed, handing him his cup before sitting on the makeshift bed. "Thank you again, for Henry."

"I didn't realise it meant so much to you, dearie." Rumpel watched her carefully as she drank her cup of tea quietly. The way her hair fell perfectly around her face, framing it like it was a beautiful art piece. Her ocean eyes holding so many emotions as she innocently looked around the room. She was perfect in his eyes.

"Rumpel?" She called out his name, breaking him away from his thoughts. "Are you okay? You seemed deep in thought."

"Just admiring your eyes, love." He smirked when her cheeks flushed red, eyes wide before she chuckled into her tea cup. "I feel like I have fallen into the deep depths of your ocean eyes and I don't want to swim up."