Lancelot and Guinevere.
Oh, yes, he remembered them.
A woman and a man who just desperately wanted their king to stop his insane quest.
And at a time, in the version of the story he already lived, in the past, he helped them without really helping them, as he refused to give them the dagger.
Which was understandable at this moment, as he still was the Dark One.
Something he was not anymore.
"How did the two of you succeed to get here ?" He asked them.
The queen showed him the gauntlet, and Rumplestiltskin nodded, before frowning.
And he realized something he never thought about, that is to say that his transformation surely had effects on the dagger.
In fact... he didn't even know what happened to it. Did the dagger still exist ?
The last time he saw this one, it was... well, he didn't even remember.
But he did know where the dagger was supposed to be, and he went to take it from where it was hidden, and he had a smile when he saw what it looked like.
It was just a dagger, there was no name on it, his one had disappeared just after Belle freed him from the curse that was on him.
"I guess you're looking for this, right ? He asked to them, and he saw relief appear on their face.
- Yes, Guinevere answered him. It's the missing piece of Excalibur, my husband's sword. It's the thing he is looking for since years.
- Yes, indeed... Hum... looking for it is not the only thing he did, right ? He also neglected you marriage."
Guinevere hiccuped with surprise, not expecting him to know her story.
"My name is Rumplestiltskin, and I am the Sorcerer... Well, Merlin is the True Sorcerer, in fact, the one of your kingdom, but... You know what ? Let's just say that I am the Sorcerer of the Enchanted Forest, and he is the Sorcerer of Camelot, it will make thing easier for everyone. So, I am the Sorcerer, and I know everything. Even the fact that you and this knight passed some days together, and that things like feelings developed between the two of you. Feelings which were already present before, and which should have never be."
The two people blushed immediately, and nodded, and Rumplestiltskin just sighed.
"Well, it's not my business, but... in fact, you should tell your king and husband about it.
- Are you going to give us this dagger ? Lancelot asked him, talking for the first time.
- Oh yes, of course, and I am coming with you too.
- For what reason ? Guinevere demanded, not being sure she wanted this to happen. After all, they didn't know this man, and he was supposed to be the Dark One, no ?
- I want to help, of course ! Because you surely need help, not to reform Excalibur (you can do this by yourself), but to free Merlin from the tree in which he is locked up !
- How... How do you know this ? Lancelot said.
- I read things about your land, and I learned other by myself."
(He didn't tell them he read this in the book Regina and Emma gave him.)
"But, Guinevere said, being really skeptical about it, it's said in the prophecy that Arthur heard of that it has to be a Savior, who breaks the spell on Merlin."
Oh... yes, it was a problem.
Or, maybe not.
After all, Henry told him he would get the power of the Savior, or something like that, when he would stop being the Dark One.
(This conversation happened some months ago now, but he remembered what the young man told him, and Rumplestiltskin told himself it could work.)
"Well, I may not be a Savior, but... just know that my magic works this way, in a sense."
Lancelot and Guinevere both raised an eyebrow, not really convinced.
The Sorcerer rolled his eyes.
"You know what ? What if we just went in Camelot, so we can figure out what we are going to do, after we are in there ?"
And, without waiting for their answer, he sent them and himself in Camelot.
§§§§
Rumplestiltskin never went in Camelot.
When he put his dagger into his vault to make Lancelot and Guinevere come in there, so he would trap them and he would get the gauntlet for him, it didn't happen in Camelot itself.
It was in another place of the Enchanted Forest.
It was not the Camelot which was created after Arthur used the thing Rumplestiltskin gave to Guinevere to change the point of view of the other, the one which "fixed" the kingdom in another version of the story.
So, when he saw what it was, he understood the reason why Arthur wanted so much to save his kingdom, to fix it.
It was, indeed, a broken kingdom.
Lancelot and Guinevere blinked, surprised of how fast it had been for them to come back at home.
"What the hell... whispered Guinevere, before seeing someone from Camelot coming in their direction.
- Your majesty, he said, both panicked and relieved, you're here ! Finally ! I know you told us where you were going, but you're gone since now six days, and we are all worried for the king.
- What do you mean ? The queen asked."
There was a part of her which was terribly hoping that Arthur remarked her absence, and that he was worried about the fact she was not here anymore.
There was a part of her which hoped that she didn't loose him forever.
But the servant's answer was not going to be like she imagined it could be.
He sighed.
"The king... We all think he is loosing his mind. The knights, all of them, they are worried for him too. He is not leaving his room anymore, he is searching for something which would help him fix the kingdom, to save it, as he keeps saying. We think he is going to become crazy, he admitted, sad."
Guinevere's hand clenched around the dagger she was holding, a dagger Rumplestiltskin gave her some seconds before, as a proof of his good faith.
And her hope and her joy immediately faded.
"Did he ask to see me ?" Guinevere asked him, still trying to hope, trying to think that, maybe, it was not over.
Arthur was her husband, after all, and she used to love him, so yes, maybe she still could fix it.
She had the dagger with her, after all.
She just needed a proof that yes, Arthur did care for her.
And if he didn't, well...
She looked at Lancelot, just next to her.
There was another man who was already doing this.
The man just turned his head.
"I'm sorry my queen, but he didn't. In fact, he asked for no one, he just stayed there, trying to translate a text. If I am not wrong, he still found nothing."
And at this moment, at this precise moment, Guinevere gave up.
She gave up on him, on Arthur, on their love, on what used to be or could have been, and she let a small sob escape from her lips, and a tear fell from her eyes.
"He didn't even notice that I left the kingdom, right ?" She asked, feeling like her heart was breaking.
The servant paled, before nodding his head.
Guinevere took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure.
And she took Lancelot's hand in her, pressing this one tightly, as if she didn't want him to risk to disappear under her eyes, just as Arthur did.
"Fine, she said, I have to get a talk with the king, she said, her face now sharper than before, and there was anger in her eyes too. We need to talk.
- I'm coming with you, Lancelot said, and the woman nodded, not really wanting to be alone to confront Arthur.
- And I will myself go to see Merlin... Well, to see the tree in which he was turned, in fact, Rumplestiltskin said.
- Thanks for your help Sorcerer, Guinevere told him. I hope you will succeed to free Merlin. Maybe that if you can, then, there will be someone who will be able to reason Arthur. I know myself that I can't do this anymore, she whispered, sadness clearly visible in her eyes."
Feeling Lancelot's grip on her right hand, she smiled.
Because, at least, she was not alone.
Rumplestiltskin left them at this moment, and Guinevere smiled when she realized that yes, they were really close to their goal.
She had in her hand the thing Arthur looked for since many years, the reason why he became more and more distant toward her.
She hated this thing she had in her hand, but she hoped too that having this with them would stop Arthur from becoming definitely insane.
The servant became even more pale than before, and he said :
"Your majesty, I... I don't think the king wants to see anyone right now.
- I don't care about it, she said with a sharp tone. The king needs to stop this madness right now, and Lancelot and I, we are going to do this. Don't tell him we are coming, okay ? I want to see by myself what my husband has become."
She then pressed even firmly her hand in Lancelot's, knowing she was going to need help to support the future confrontation.
§§§§
He was close from the solution, Arthur was now certain of it.
He just needed some more time, he just needed...
He blinked when he felt the door of the room being opening, letting enter Lancelot, followed by Guinevere, who let a look full of pity fall on her husband.
Arthur was not completely idiot either, he knew that there was some basis things that must be done to survive, but the thing was that... he surely hadn't really slept a lot since Lancelot and Guinevere left, the queen and the knight both realized.
And it was not the only thing that could be noticed.
His eyes... in them, there was a light Guinevere never saw in her husband's eyes, something which frightened her as hell, and she had an involuntary move of fear when she saw her husband in this state.
This one had the decency to, at least, appear mortified for being seen by her in this state of mind.
"Guinevere ? What are you doing here ? He asked his wife."
The queen walked in his direction, and immediately slapped his face.
"Thanks. Thanks a lot Arthur, for caring for me with so much interest ! She screamed with a sarcastic tone. You didn't see me since six fucking days, and this is everything you succeed to tell me ? Lancelot had much more conversation when the two of us we were on this trip to find for you what you were looking for !"
Arthur looked at her, astonished, and the young woman couldn't have said if it was more because of the slap or because of her words.
And this time, Guinevere didn't contain herself anymore.
"Do you want to know the reason why I wasn't there since six days ? Well, I don't even know if you care, as you didn't ask to see me, as you didn't even notice I was gone ! There was tears in the queen's eyes, and when Lancelot took her hand, she didn't try to stop him.
- Guinevere, I..."
She didn't know if he wanted to say that he was sorry, but the thing is that she didn't care anymore, she didn't want to hear him say that he was sorry without meaning it.
Because she knew that his quest was and would always be more important than her, so she didn't want to buy his lies again.
She didn't want to be in his life anymore.
It would have broken her heart some days ago, when she was still trying to be unaware of Lancelot's feelings for her, and her own feelings.
But now, as she knew that Arthur was too lost in his obsession to succeed to care for her, she was not feeling guilty anymore for having romantic feelings for another man.
After all, Arthur was the first one who provoked the destruction of their relationship, and it was not a surprise that she finally decided to find someone else than him, someone who wouldn't put his mission before her, someone who would really care.
And Lancelot was this person.
It didn't mean that Guinevere didn't care anymore for Arthur, he was still her husband after all – not for so long, she thought – and her friend, and she used to love him, - but her feelings for him were now dead, as she was seeing a man who had nothing to do with the man she married – and she wanted to help him.
And if she tried to stay as neutral as possible, she could see a desperate man, who needed help.
But who also needed to hear that he had a problem, which was the case.
"Please Arthur, don't talk. I don't want you to apologize to me. I just want to tell that you went too far. You abandoned everything, not just me, but also your kingdom, your people, your friends, just in order to pursuit a chimera you may never find. (She didn't tell him she found what he was looking for. She just wanted to be sure he was really lost.) So, now, my dear, I am going to leave you with this ultimatum.
- What do you want Guinevere ? Arthur asked her, and she almost gave up, seeing how tired and desperate he seemed to be, but she had to stay firm.
- Choose. This is me, or your quest. And you have to choose now."
A part of Lancelot was now taken by fear.
He was sure that Arthur was going to choose Guinevere, after all she was his wife, his queen, the woman he loved since he was a child.
And for Lancelot, she mattered much more than any quest, even the most glorious, even the one Arthur was purchasing.
And he knew that if the king chose Guinevere, he was going to loose her, something he was waiting for since the day where he told the queen he loved her, and where she told him she loved him too.
He knew himself that she chose him just because Arthur was not here for her, and even if a part of him hoped that she would choose him over Arthur, he was still afraid that the king's choice would immediately separate him from the woman he loved.
He knew himself that he would always choose her.
It was so obvious for him.
But not for everyone, apparently, according to Arthur's terrified look, who didn't seem to have any idea of what to answer.
"Guinevere, you just can't ask this to me !
- Why not ? It's an easy thing to do. This dagger you're searching for, or me.
- I can't choose ! This is my quest, my mission and I have to do this to save the kingdom."
Understanding that now he had already made his choice, even if he was still not conscious of it, Guinevere had a sad smile.
(And the thing was that Arthur still didn't seem to remark the interlaced fingers of his wife and his friend.)
"But Arthur, it doesn't mean you have to loose yourself in the process..."
Guinevere then sighed, taking the dagger from her pocket, in which this one was hidden.
And Arthur's eyes began to shine with envy when he saw it.
"Give it to me ! He ordered her, and it felt like he wasn't really seeing her anymore, but just the object which had destroyed their wedding.
- No Arthur, I won't. Not now, because you need help. And Arthur, you did make your choice, so I make mine. I'm leaving you. You don't want me to be with you anymore, you just want to find the missing piece of Excalibur. You don't love me anymore, I know it. You want this thing more than you want me, am I wrong ?"
When she saw Arthur's look, she realized it was the truth, and she put the dagger back into her pocket.
"I will give it to you Arthur, I promise, but first, you need to rest, and to understand how far you went, and all the things you almost lost by your attitude."
And then, without waiting for her husband to answer, she immediately knocked him out.
Lancelot looked at her, surprised, seeing the woman putting her husband on his bed, so he would finally sleep.
"Isn't it a little bit... extreme ? I mean, you could have used some magic, like poppy flower, right ?"
Guinevere just laughed, happy to be freed with this toxic relationship that settled between her and her husband, and she smiled to her lover, before kissing him.
"He deserved it. This is his punishment for all these evenings and all these nights where he left me alone. And I didn't have this type of magic on me, so, excuse me. And he did deserve to rest."
Lancelot had a little and amused laugh, before he kissed her again.
§§§§
Regina was nervous.
Like, really nervous.
Just after she came back from Wonderland, her and Belle (well, her mostly) decided to go frequently at the Merry Men' camp, in order at first to tell them that their mission was accomplished, and that Will Scarlet was now okay and happy with Anastasia.
They came back of course, because Belle was a good friend of Robin and Marian and of all the Merry Men.
Regina came back too.
Not for the Merry Men.
Not for Marian.
But for Robin.
She liked him the second she saw him, during Snow's and David's wedding, and she was troubled when she met him, she couldn't deny it.
And she was terribly afraid.
It had been since weeks they were seeing each other, and Regina was really happy to see him every day, to make him laugh, or to laugh with him, even if she still didn't tell him many things about her life.
She was falling in love with him, she knew it, like she did when she was with Daniel, but, as she told to Tinkerbell before she forgot about the fact that Robin was her soul-mate, she was still unsure of the fact that she deserved to move on.
She looked at the ring in her hand, the ring Daniel gave to her, at a time where she was still someone good, and where she thought she could still become who she wanted to be.
Oh, how naive and innocent she was...
And she asked herself what could have been, if her mother didn't interfere in her life.
She asked herself if Daniel and her would have been happy or not, and if things would have been good for them.
For some seconds, she imagined it, a life far from the castle in which she had been a prisoner, far from this life she never wanted.
She imagined being with him, having a child, being happy and not with all these darkness around.
She began to cry lightly, before she heard someone sit down next to her, and she started when she realized it was Marian.
The other woman had at first logical difficulties to get used to Regina's presence, but this one had now nothing to do with the terrible queen she used to be, so now, Marian was less stressed when she was with her.
They were not really friends, but they were beginning to appreciate each other.
And Marian, being the observant woman she was, had already saw Regina's interest on Robin, interest which was certainly reciprocal.
Indeed, the two of them weren't that discrete.
Regina wiped her tears, and she smiled at the other woman, before putting the ring in her pocket, and if Marian saw her gesture, she asked her no question about it.
"Are you okay Regina ?
- Yes, she said, nodding. I was just... thinking about some sad things of my past.
- Something you want to forget ?
- Something which may stop me from moving on, she admitted."
Marian had a little smile.
"I guess that by this you're talking about Robin, right ?"
Regina started, and blushed.
"Yes, but... how ?
- It's easy to see that you're falling under his charm, Regina, and I am not really surprised by it, some of the women do.
- Do you ? She asked Marian, more with curiosity than with jealousy.
Marian chuckled, amused by the other woman's hypothesis, really far from the truth.
- Hum... no. He is not my type, definitely not. I think someone like Belle could more be my type, she said, looking at the brunette who was now talking with Robin."
Regina raised an eyebrow, not surprise by the revelation itself, but more by the fact that Marian decided to tell this to her.
"Well, I hope you're not interested in her, because she has a very possessive husband."
Marian laughed again, the light of fear in her eyes disappearing as she saw Regina was making no remark about what she just said.
And she shrugged.
"Now, I'm not, we are just friends, that's it, and just as you and I are... kind of.
And Regina offered her a smile.
- I am happy you're beginning to consider me as your friend Marian, it does really matter for me."
Because, even if she was falling in love with Robin, the thing was that she appreciated Marian and all the Merry Men too, and moreover, she wanted their friendship and their approval to have a relationship with their chief.
Because she knew that someone who wouldn't really be appreciated by Robin's friends would have difficulties to begin a relationship with him, just as it was at a moment the same thing with Snow White and her "brothers", the dwarfs.
(Yes, David told her some things about it which made her laugh.)
So yes, she was completely sincere when she was telling Marian that she cared about her friendship.
Marian just smiled to her.
§§§§
During their conversation, there was the same type of talk between Robin and Belle.
In fact, Belle was the one who oriented the conversation in this direction, because, along with Tinkerbell, she was plotting to make them be together.
She knew for the mark, unlike the two concerned people.
But more than that, she knew that these two people really liked each other, it was something which could easily be noticed, just when you looked at them, and Belle really found them adorable.
But, if it was clear that Robin was already ready to begin a relationship with someone, even if it was the former Evil Queen, it was not the same with Regina, and Belle knew it.
So, that was the reason why she was here.
She didn't want to tell him about Daniel, she just wanted him to know things were not going to be that easy between the two of them.
But despite it, she was confident.
So they talk together for some hours, Belle not missing the looks these two were giving to each other, and she tried not to laugh.
Tinkerbell had always been right about it, she realized.
§§§§
During the moment where Rumplestiltskin was in Camelot (which happened after Belle's and Regina's visits to the Merry Men' camp) Belle was at this moment in Snow's and David's castle, with two certain people.
Red and the Huntsman.
This last one was still suffering from what Regina did to him while she still had his heart, and only Red and Belle's presence was able to make him feel better.
Because, even if it had nothing to do with what he lived, Belle knew what it was, to be locked up.
And Red and Graham had... a special relationship, which explained the reason why she was here.
The two women had been called by Snow White, who had no idea of what to do to help her friend. It was still difficult for Red and Belle to calm him, but the most they did it, the most easy it was, or in fact, it was less long every time.
And, just as with Regina, Belle couldn't help but see the look they were exchanging.
Belle began to smile.
She was just happy that her friends were slowly finding happiness.