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CHAPTER FOURTEEN; THOMAS PART ONE
Taverns were probably the one place Sage could drown her sorrows in without judgement. It was Christmas Eve in Wonderland, a night filled with children's joy, laughter, and family fun. Unfortunately, it was also the night of Sage's birthday. Birthdays were usually celebrated with pleasantness, but not for Sage. For Sage, it was just a painful reminder that twenty-seven years ago, she was abandoned. Her parents apparently didn't care if it was her birthday, or Christmas Eve. They just wanted her gone.
So, a tavern seemed the most appropriate place for her on this particular day. The tavern was filled with a herd of locals, most people with their families. Sage sat at one of the wooden tables in the corner, sighing while looking down at her half-empty cup of bourbon. While she was thankful for the peaceful silence, every few minutes it was abruptly broken by the loud and somewhat annoying cheering coming from a group of drunks near the bar. Their slurring laughter and yells rang through her ears like an irritating bell. And judging from the mildly annoyed glances thrown at them from the other customers, they weren't enjoying their company either.
Finally, after almost an entire thirty minutes, Sage patience ran out and she stomped her way over them, forgetting all about her parents. The boys, or rather men, all huddled into one big group, gulping down long swigs of beer and wildly laughing about God knows what. When Sage approached the group, she was quick to speak his distaste for them, her voice louder than there's. "Sorry to crash the fun, boys!" The men's voices died down, all of them turning to face her. "But for some reason I can't seem to enjoy my night when all I hear it a bunch of cackling drunks."
One of the men, who in particular caught Sage's attention, leaned against the bar, smirking with amusement. He was taller than her by a few inches, with shaggy yet straight dark brown hair and a pair of the most gorgeous bright green eyes she's even seen. "I am so sorry that our fun was being a disruption to your night. Wouldn't want a little thing like you to be displeased."
Her lips twisted into a tight-lipped, sarcastic smile. "Is this your version of flirting or are you just naturally an arrogant ass."
He shrugged, smugness gleaming in his eyes. "Depends who you ask."
The thief simply scoffed, shaking her head while looking at the front door. Despite his vivid charm, Sage was in no mood to have a back-and-forth with some handsome stranger. He wasn't worth her time, at least not tonight. "Forget it." She mumbled, walking away without bothering to even look at him again. As she walked towards the door, pulling her hood over her head, she heard their chatter and alcohol filled laughter continue. She left the tavern only to be greeted by snow lightly falling down.
White flakes began to cover the muddy grass, creating a beautiful mirage of miracles. Sage furrowed her brows and glanced around, trying to look for her horse that was nowhere to be found. She could have sworn that she left it around here. But, must to her disappointment, it must have scurried off. Shame on her for not tying the stallion up somewhere. Instead of returning back to the warmth of the tavern, Sage walked down a long dirt trail, wrapping the black cloak around her body more promptly. Not even the alcohol seething in her body could take away the lingering pain of her parent's abandonment, or Jefferson's absent. A miracle was something Sage wouldn't mind getting.
She stopped at a wide, stone bench near a hill that dipped down. She sat and watched black crows erupt from the trees and flee into the blue sky. Despite it being night time, the sky was still painted with a baby blue color.
"Coin for your thoughts, darling?"
Sage's head snapped towards the voice, her eyes narrowing once they landed on the handsome stranger from the tavern. He stood up, all smug-like, holding a shiny flask in his hand, looking at her like she was a curious creature, "Lonesome, are we?" He amusingly questioned.
Her head tilted to the side, "What are you doing here?"
He shrugged, "You seemed upset. I'm checking up on you."
"How considerate." She sarcastically muttered, "Well, I'm fine. You can go now."
She paused for a moment, waiting to hear his footsteps crunching the snow as he walked away. But they never came. Sage looked behind her shoulder and saw that he was still there, smirking. She rolled her eyes, "Go away!"
"No."
"Yes!"
"No."
"Yes!"
"Nope."
"Go!"
"No."
"Bastard." Sage mumbled, looking away as she bit back a smile. Eventually, she did hear his footsteps, but they weren't walking away. Instead, they were walking towards her. The man sat down on the small bench besides her, their legs touching. His bright eyes, that looked like a focus point in the midst of white, darted to every inch of her face, instantly noticing her lingering distress. "You look like you need a drink."
Sage took the flask he was handing to her wordlessly, drinking much more than a small sip. He chuckled, "You know, I usually tell most women to slow down."
"It's the holidays." She scoffed, "Let me drink."
"Holidays are suppose to be a time for joy. Why aren't you celebrating in glee?" He questioned, making Sage silent.
After a few moments, she looked back at him with a cocky grin, "I should ask you the same thing. Most people are with there families tonight. Why aren't you?"
A deep heave left his chest, "I was with them, earlier. Things didn't go so well, so a tavern seemed to be the best place for me."
"...It's my birthday." Sage finally told, curling her toes from the inside of her shoes. "Birthdays aren't really my reckoning."
"I'm assuming a lingering wound may be reopening." The man looked at her more closer, and Sage felt more exposed them ever before. Somehow, he was looking straight past her wall and searching for her true emotions. "Or is it already open?"
"Clever, aren't you." She took another sip of the whiskey, enjoying the burning down liquid going down her throat.
Suddenly, he held out his hand, "Thomas Paine. May I ask for your name, or will I get another side-ways glare."
"Cheeky, very nice." Sage shook his hand, smiling widely. "Sage Chamberlain."
"Ah, a lovely name for a lovely women."
She cocked an eyebrow at him, "Do you flirt with everyone?"
"Only the pretty ones."
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Sage always wondered how Rumpelstiltskin didn't lose his sanity while being stuck in that cell. It all started with Cinderella and her agreeing to the some screwed up deal. The original deal was that Rumpelstiltskin would give the fair maiden her happy ending if she, in return, would give him her first born child. After Cinderella won the heart of her prince and became pregnant, she immediately wanted to go back on the deal. With help from Snow White and her beloved Prince Charming, the four will able to trick the Dark One and ensnared him with the ink. After they were able to freeze him in the squid ink, the royal couple built a enchanted dungeon in the old mines.
He stayed in that cell until Regina cast the curse and swoop them all into Storybrooke. It was almost nostalgic to stalk down the rusty old mines and slowly walk towards the cell, the gate fully open. "Rumpelstiltskin's cell." Sage let out a long exhale, glancing between Mary Margaret and Emma who stood by either sides of her. "Mary Margaret and I haven't been here since before Regina's curse."
"This is where he told us you were going to be the Savior." Mary Margaret smiled softly at the memory. Sage was always with the royal couple when they visited, for precaution and what not.
Emma rose her eyebrows in shock, "He knew?"
"It was prophesied. You see, Rumple has a special gift of seeing snippets of the future. He has a talent of using his knowledge of the future to his advantage." Sage explained, before holding up the lantern higher and walking forward, "Come on!"
Once the three entered the cell, joining Aurora and Mulan who were already inside, everyone began searching for the ink, which was probably stashed between the cracks of the rock walls. After a moment, Aurora began to look frantic, "The squid ink, it's not here!"
Mary Margaret's eyes widened, "Gold said we would find it."
Once again, everyone thoroughly search every crevice and corner of the cell, but there was nothing. "Well, was there anyone else in here with him? Could they have taken the ink?" Emma questioned, looking at her mother and close friend for answers. Despite being the product of true love and the child of the two most famous fairytale characters, Emma was still trying to figure out and learn the history that happened, before she was born.
Sage shook her head rapidly, "No, he was kept alone. Visitors were forbidden. He was too dangerous to allow any human contact."
"How'd he keep from going crazy?"
"He didn't." All the women's heads turned to look at Aurora, who discovered a rolled up scroll hidden between the stones. As she unraveled it, the other four women were kept on their toes, "What is it? A message?"
"Yes." The princess nodded, before walking over and handing the scroll over to Emma. "And I think it's for you."
"Why would you―" Her confused words came to a pause once her shaking hands unwinded the scroll and saw her name written hundreds and thousands of times over. The scroll went was so long that it touched the floor. Sage couldn't believe what she was seeing and could only imagine how every day of Rumple stuck in this cell was another day going insane.
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Thievery was more on an act rather than a hobby.
Sage had learned over the years that stealing came natural to her, which wasn't exactly a compliment. She should have seen it coming, considering her father's former occupation probably influenced her. People looked at thieves and had evident disgust on their faces. It was common for people to see thieves as repulsive and self-centered criminals. No one could help it; it was just human instinct to judge people. But the truth was, in many cases, that thieves were just people trying to get by. For them, it was a lifestyle and the only way to survive their harsh reality.
For a majority of her entire life, Sage Chamberlain couldn't remember a time where she wasn't stealing. Whether it was high-priced jewels from a castle, or a red apple from a market, Sage always stole when needed. The girl was well aware that she was constantly committing multiple criminal offenses, yet she didn't care. Hundreds of knights and soldiers were went to bring her back to the Queen, so that she could be charged and put in jail. But Sage was much smarter than them and was always one step ahead.
Looking back, Sage debated if becoming a thief was the right, or smart thing to do. At the same time, she also knew that dwelling on past decisions wasn't going to solve anything. It's easier said than done. All thoughts of the past vanished once a royal carriage came into Sage's view. She was currently in the forest, hiding high up on a tree. She was crouched down on a thick, sturdy branch that looked over the dirt road. Her hood was up, shielding the sides of her face like a velvet curtain. A bow and arrow was in her hands, ready to aim and fire. She only had one arrow so this shot had to be perfect. As the carriage peacefully road down the trail and the driver kept his horses moving, Sage's right hand tightened around the end of the arrow and pulled back, listening to the string of the bow stretching. Taking in a deep breath, Sage closed one eye, aimed, and watched as the arrow flew down and hit one of the wheels of the carriage.
The royal carriage toppled over, only leaning to one specific corner where the wheel had been broken. The wooden wheel fractured at the sharp, powerful arrow that Sage was able to shoot. Archery was never really something Sage was particularly good at. For her, sword fighting was always where her specialties lied. Once the carriage toppled and the horses started to whine and get hyped up, Sage jumped down onto the ground and hurried behind the carriage. The driver was occupied up front, trying to get the horses to calm down.
Sage sneaked into the wide trunk, that was covered by capes, and saw trunks of gold harbored inside. If she had more time, she would have marveled at the sight in front of her. Instead, she got out a small velvet bag and began to pack as much gold coins as she could. Once the bag was full, the thief tied the opening up and sprinted off before the driver could notice. Sage didn't stop, too paranoid that someone would be following, or that the driver did in fact see her and was now running after his gold.
But the thief's running stopped once something picked her up from the ground and yanked her up into the air. She yelped, struggling in whatever tight grasp something, or someone had on her. After a moment, Sage stopped her thrashing and tried to calm her breathing, her wide eyes looking at her surroundings. Thick, vine ropes sewed and created a large net meant to catch animals. Instead, it caught Sage. She dropped the bag and wrapped her hands around the prickly vines, trying to pull herself up. But with all the holes in the net, Sage kept slipping and couldn't get herself out.
She suddenly heard loud chuckling and clapping. She quickly whipped around, her hands gripping the sides of the net tightly. A person below her, looking up, was laughing with wild amusement, smirking up at the caught thief, "Aren't you in a bit of a tangle."
Her eyebrows rose in shock, "Thomas!"
"Ah, Sage Chamberlain." Thomas looked up at her with a wide grin, "The pretty little birthday lass from the tavern."
"I'm surprised you remember me."
Bewilderment painted across her face, "How could I forget? The beautiful young women who resisted all of my flirtations and has a very stubborn personality."
Her mouth gaped open, "I am not stubborn!"
"You are!"
"Am not!"
"You are!"
A warm blush arose on her cheeks as she glanced away, biting down her lip to stop a smile from growing. This man knew how to charm. "Fine, maybe I am a tiny bit stubborn. Well, Short Straw, it seems you've caught me at a disadvantage.." Her face grew stern, her eyes hardening like stone and voice becoming louder, fiercer, "Cut me down!"
"Not a fan of using manners, are we?" He laughed, not at all phased by her threatening tone. He wasn't intimidated, but instead, impressed by such strength. "The net was meant for animals, such as hogs and wolves, not for hundred pound women with bad attitudes."
Sage scoffed, "I've been call worse. Not that we've been through our familiar banter, mind cutting me down from this uncomfortable net."
"On one condition." Thomas retorted, making Sage roll her eyes in irritation, "You will humbly allow me to walk you home. It's too dangerous to walk by yourself when night is dawning."
She shifted uncomfortably, "I don't, uh, I don't really have a home. I'm a traveler type of girl."
He nodded, humming, "Well then, come back to my family's cabin for a hot dinner."
"No, I shouldn't-"
"Please, my treat. It was your birthday when we met and everyone deserves a nice birthday present. There's warmth, food at the cabin." Thomas sighed at the uneasy expression of Sage's face, "I'm not an serial killer, trust me."
"I don't trust anyone."
"Well there's a first for everything." A sly smile curled on his lips, "Will you accept my offer?"
Sage looked at Thomas and found herself believing every word that slipped from his mouth. She didn't know why, but Thomas made her feel like she could trust everything he says and every promise he makes. Taking a deep breath, Sage decided to let an ounce of weary trust filled her heart, "Alright, Short Straw, cut me down and we'll have that birthday dinner."
Thomas smiled, wide and boldly wild.
— a new chapter has arrived! but my question is, do you guys like Thomas? as you all can see he's very charming and humorous. next chapter will focus on Sage and Thomas falling in love with one another and his tragic death. encase you don't recognize the lovely gentleman in the gif who is portraying Thomas, his name is Terrance Coombs and he plays Bash on Reign. i hope you guys like it, please comment and vote. much love, mx.