𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 ★ 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟓

────── ★★★ ──────

────── ★★★ ──────

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟓
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐎𝐍𝐄

────── ★★★ ──────

It took a day's journey for Samuel and Jason to reach their next destination. Neither of them said a word as they stopped their horses in front of the Dark One's castle. Silence continued to surround them as they stared at the dark castle from a safe distance away. That lasted for a moment longer before the De Vil boy looked over at Jason. Samuel wasn't surprised to find the Willims boy looking at the scene in front of him with terror in his eyes. The older knight was doing his best to suppress his own fears after all. But Samuel knew he was the senior knight in this situation and he had to be the one to take the lead and keep Jason calm.

"Are you sure we have to do this?" Jason asked, breaking the silence without taking his eyes off of their future destination, "because I really don't want to do this."

"I know you don't want to do this, I don't want to do this either," Samuel admitted before letting out a long sigh and looking back at the Dark One's castle, "but King Maurice gave us an order and we can't disobey him."

That was all it took for the Willims boy to look over at his friend. "Why can't the King send one of his knights to do it?"

Despite the fear he was feeling, the De Vil boy chuckled. "We are his knights. And all we have to do is go in there and ask the Dark One why the Ogres are coming closer to the kingdom. Piece of cake."

Samuel did his best to ignore the skeptical look Jason was sending him. It wasn't long after that when they rode closer to the castle while keeping their guards up, knowing they needed to be prepared for anything. While the elder knight kept his eyes glued to their destination, the Willims boy was looking in all directions as if he was expecting a beast to appear at any moment. Even though Samuel would never admit it aloud, Jason's actions made him wonder if he should've listened to his allies and chosen a knight with more experience for this position.

What felt like an eternity passed when they finally reached the Dark One's castle. Both of them hesitated for a moment before demounting their horses and tying them to a nearby railing. Once they knew their steeds were secured, Samuel began walking toward the large door with Jason right behind him. A shaky breath passed over the De Vil boy's lips as he knocked on the door three times. Not even a second after that passed when it slowly opened, but there was no one there to greet them. Samuel and Jason stood in front of the opened door like statues unsure of what to do next. That was until a man with scales like a crocodile appeared in the doorway to the room across from them.

"Come in, dearies," the Dark One said with a large smirk on his face as he studied the two boys standing in front of him, "I've been expecting you."

Samuel and Jason instantly exchanged an uncertain look before hesitantly following the powerful man into the next room. After they entered what seemed to be a dining room, they watched the Dark One sit down at the head of the table. Silence surrounded them for what felt like an eternity before Rumplestiltskin decided to break it. "What can I do for the two of you?"