Silver and Gold (Once Upon A Time FanFiction)

Two

I sat outside, watching Rumpelstiltskin throw the dishes around. I was afraid to interrupt him in his rage. I needed help though. I took a deep breath and walked to the front of his castle. Swinging open the doors I walked in confidently. "What do you want." He all but hissed at me. Sure he knew me. How could he forget? "I need protection. From the Queen." I stated, my head held up.

"Oh. Is that all? And what do I get in return?" He scoffed, assuming I had nothing of interest. "I seem to do things that, shall we say, others can't." I replied vaguely. "Protect me and I will tend the castle. I will do as you need. You will have me, and my magic, at your disposal." I said, seeing as how I had his interest.

"And tell me, dearie, what exactly can you do that I can't?" Rumpelstiltskin asked, his anger seemingly gone. "I was dead before I was alive. I can pierce the veil, if you will. I can know secrets. I can, shall we say, persuade others with very little problem. All it takes is a little tug." I said and I flicked my wrist, sending him to sit on the floor.

"Interesting." He hummed, getting up. He gave me a once over and nodded. "Fine. We have a deal." Rumpelstiltskin grinned wolfishly. What did I just do. I nodded and trailed along him as he listed things expected of me to do. "Skin the children." I caught the end of a sentence he spoke.

"Ah. Would you like it leathered?" I asked without really thinking, blinking. I did hear him correctly, right? He let out a giggle. "Oh you're already better than that stupid little Belle." He said and walked out.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

All in all, the first few weeks were uneventful. I dusted and washed everything with hardly any problem. The bloodstains were tough to get out, but I managed quite well. I gathered straw when I noticed he was running low. The main problem was the dust. It was everywhere and seemed to reappear over night. I didn't complain though.

I kept to myself. He had me housed in the dungeon. It was no problem really. I didn't tend to sleep much anyway. It had straw for me to sleep on. That was enough for me. I had less before. Honestly I was just relieved to have shelter from the weather.

I stepped off the small ladder I was using and stretched a bit. It was fairly nice here. Cozy even. Especially during a storm. I didn't mind being here. In fact, I actually quite liked it. Shaking my head, I sighed and went back up the ladder, continuing to dust quietly so as to not disturb him.

"Winter. I request your service on this deal." Rumpelstiltskin stated from behind me. I've only been with him on a few deals, funny enough he never demands me to go though. He requests. I nodded and put down the rag I was using. Following him, I didn't even ask for more information. At this point I already knew that he was aware of what he was doing.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"You did well." Rumpelstiltskin quietly praised me afterwards. I had resumed my duties and had just brought him in some straw when he said this. "Thank you. I'm happy to be of some use." I flashed him a grin and went to clean the table down before starting on supper. I hadn't expected the compliment.

I cleaned the table in silence, the only sound was his spinning wheel. It was actually rather relaxing. I found myself more and more relaxed in his company. We didn't talk much. There was no need to. Cleaning the last spot, I stood straight and went put my supplies away.

"You can move to one of the spare rooms if you like. No use in having you down in the dungeon. You need to be at your best to assist me." He called to me, stopping me in my tracks. I stood there a second, my back to him. "Thank you, sir. Much appreciated." I looked at him over my shoulder. He wasn't even looking at me. I smiled to myself and went about making supper.