Dreaming Out Loud

And Wake Up Where the Clouds Are Far Behind Me

Chapter 101: And Wake Up Where the Clouds Are Far Behind Me

The years passed quickly, as Rumpelstiltskin secretly trained Regina in the ways of dark magic. It had been very difficult for her at first, but her overwhelming rage at her mother and sister had changed her and facilitated the needed changes in her to mold her into the woman he needed to cast his curse.

Over the years, Arawn had assimilated many Kingdoms under his rule. George and Midas were allowed to remain on their Thrones as mere figureheads under Arawn's complete control. King Hubert and his Queen had been too resistant and were executed, while Hubert's most trusted Knights saw to it that Phillip was sent east into hiding.

King Stefan had folded to Arawn as well, allowing him to keep his Throne, much to his daughter, Princess Aurora's chagrin. Knowing that the late Queen Briar Rose would be horrified, the fairies that had been her allies eventually whisked Aurora away into hiding.

King Stefan tried to appeal to the other King's thirst for power by telling him that they should invade Maleficent's castle next and kill the dragon woman. But Arawn refused. He was known for avoiding magic that he wasn't completely sure he could overpower her and thus Maleficent's castle was left untouched for the moment, as was the Dark One's castle for obvious reasons.

Next, Arawn had moved south to a small Kingdom ruled by Lord Maurice. Arawn was well aware of the deal the man previously made with the Dark One, who ended the threat of the ogres in exchange for the man's beautiful daughter, Belle. But all that had done was pave the way for Arawn to easily assimilate Maurice's Kingdom next without any ogres in his path.

After that, Arawn seized the maritime Kingdom, forcing Prince Eric to flee to the east to avoid execution. The Prince's ailing father had just passed away months ago, but there would be no coronation for Prince Eric.

Regina's Kingdom was one of the only ones left standing on its own, save for the mysterious Arendelle. And magic was definitely the reason for that. Neither Frollo or Arawn were completely sure they could combat the magic of Queen Cora and her daughter Zelena. But Arawn was not giving up. He was a patient man and if he could not overtake Leopold's Kingdom, then he planned to appeal to his and his Queen's greed by proposing a merger when the time was right.

As for Arendelle, Princess Elsa had finally come of age and her coronation was underway. He had sent Hans into get a scope of the Kingdom and hoped to hear good news from his youngest brother soon.

Snow White still eluded them, but there had been sightings over the years. He suspected though that Hades and Persephone had kept her sequestered in the Underworld most of the time. Eli was in hiding as well and there were rumors that he was living somewhere near the city of Athens, well known to be protected by Athena, though there had supposedly been sightings of him in Thebes as well. But that did not bother him too much. He was still confident that he could capture the wayward Princess and use her to his advantage. His Kingdom would continue to grow and soon, he knew he would rival the power of the Gods. Especially if Frollo's research and experimentation yielded the results he soon hoped for.

Arawn entered the top spire of the castle that was formerly George's and spied his Vizier at the infamous Cauldron that had come into Arawn's possession many years ago. While the Cauldron's past was lousy with black magic, these days, Frollo used it for his scientific experiments and dabbles into alchemy.

For years, Frollo has been attempting to change ordinary metals into valuable ones like gold. But more importantly, he was on a lifelong quest to use science and the cauldron to create an elixir of immortality. Arawn shared in his quest for immortality, but he had employed Frollo to explore another avenue on his path to immortality for him.