Worlds Colliding (Once Upon a Time) Book Three

chapter 4 - Nasty Habits

Neal dropped his jacket down on Felix's unconscious body, running away.

ღ Worlds Colliding (Once Upon a Time) ღ

Flashback 1

Enchanted Forest

Night - Rumplestiltskin's Hovel

Rumplestiltskin walked in to join his children. "Bae, Cilla, presents, something to sharpen your coal with."

"Where did you get it?" Baelfire asked.

"Oh, from a man who no longer needed it," Rumplestiltskin told them.

Young Priscilla rolled her eyes. "You mean taken from a man who couldn't pay you."

"Cilla..." Rumplestiltskin trailed off.

"Cilla and I told you, Papa, we don't want any more gifts from the people you terrorize," Baelfire told him.

"Then what do you want?" Rumplestiltskin asked. "Tell me, Bae. What would make you happy?"

"Leaving this place," Young Priscilla answered. "I'm tired of staying in this hovel all the time."

"Well, that's easy to fix," Rumplestiltskin told them. "How about a castle, huh? I could build you a palace so magnificent its shadow would blanket the countryside."

"That's what what we mean," Baelfire told him. "We wanna go out, have friends, see the world beyond these four walls. Papa, why can't you just trust us to do that?"

"I do trust you, Bae," Rumplestiltskin told him. "And I trust Priscilla. It--it's others that I can't. You see, I have many enemies beyond that door, and once you leave, any one of them could hurt you."

"You sure that's the only reason?" Young Priscilla asked. "Maybe what you're really worried about is if we leave, we might never come back."

Rumplestiltskin shook his head nervously. "No, no, I--I... I'm worried about your safety. This is the best place for you. I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost either of you."

ღ

Now

Neverland

Night - Island

Gold was putting on war paint.

The illusion of Belle appeared. "You always felt more comfortable behind a mask."

"You and Priscilla were the only ones who could ever see past it, past the mask of the monster," Gold told her.

"Then why put it back on now?" Belle asked.

"I need the monster, Belle," Gold told her. "It's the only way I can save them, and that's what I've decided, I'm gonna save Henry, Rose and Grace."

"The prophecy states that Lisa, Grace, Rose and Henry will be your undoing," Belle reminded him. "To save them, you ensure your own death."

Gold frowned. "You don't think I can do it?"

"I think your intentions are good, but a lifetime of craven self-interest is a nasty habit that you've never been able to break," Belle answered.

Gold looked down, uncertain. "Things are different now."

"How?" Belle asked. "What--what's different?"