LONDON ♔ i'm trapped alive and i've been burned | there's nothing left and nothing learned.

[undealt]

♬ when i first met him- julia murney

WHO || Belle and Gold [closed]
WHAT || Belle gets a message in a dream.
WHERE || Inside Belle's brain ????
WHEN || an explosion goes off in the distance
HOW || actionspam

It's been several months since anyone has heard from Auric Gold. Rumors have flown, and given the man's display of pyrotechnics on Andres, it's no wonder he's been given a wide berth, so long as he's not lighting up people for fun, and as the incidents on Andres were found to be related to a mysterious dagger and a son that Gold knows nothing about, the matter has since been laid aside, as other concerns crop up and take attention from the Knights.

It probably isn't the first time a knight has fled and it won't be the last, and there's nothing in his flight that suggests the matter need be pursued, assuming Gold will either come back on his own to face his demons or resurface whether for good or for ill. In the meantime, Gaston remains (surprisingly if you know anything about the Dark One, which even Gold doesn't) unharmed, which probably goes the farthest for pointing out that his self-imposed exile doesn't make him a threat, regardless of the truths that came out that fateful October afternoon.

He has not made contact with anyone, not even his familiar, who has been left at the castle to be taken care of by anyone who will take pity on a crocodile. In six months, no one has so much as heard a whisper of a suggestion of where he might be or when he might be coming back, or if he'll come back at all.

And then one evening, Belle goes to sleep in her bed, and as she drifts into a dream, there's Gold, a bit shabbier than he may have been when she last left him, but smiling all the same. There's a strangeness in his gaze- how he doesn't quite see her or meet her eyes, but it's unmistakably him.

"Belle," he begins, softly, addressing a point slightly to the left of her.

Comments

[impetere]

Yeah, sort of.

[Not really but it's not life or death (probably). They just need to find your grandfather Belle's wayward boyfriend.]

I know it's late but Belle and I need your help with something. Can you come to my room?

[wanttobeahero]

[ Belle? Ok, that piques his curiosity. And at least it doesn't sound...bad. ]

Yeah, of course. I'll be there soon.

[ By "soon," really, he just means less than five minutes while he pulls on his jeans and shoes, and then he knocks on her door softly. ]

Hey, it's me.

[ Not that she'd probably be expecting anyone else... ]

[impetere]

[Cora pushes up and goes to answer the door, flashing him a smile before gesturing for him to come inside.]

Belle, this is Henry Mills. Henry, this is Belle.

[wanttobeahero]

[ He smiles back at her, and he'd probably be more conversational at the moment, but there's something going on that's more pressing. And he knows Belle, but he smiles and gives her a little wave. ]

Nice to see you, both of you. So...what can I help with?

[impetere]

[She closes the door and moves around him to sit on the bed again, one hand idly wandering back to the dog that's resting there.]

We were wondering what you could tell us about the Dark One.

[Which she knows might be a sensitive topic, but she's always been one who thinks it's better to just jump into it.]

[untethered]

Henry and I have met before. [ she says quietly, before nodding to cora's words, glancing at him worriedly. they haven't talked since she found out his link to gold's world. ]

[wanttobeahero]

Oh. [ Not the happiest of topics. But he's eager to help in some way, and it brings back...well, lots of memories of reading through his book the first time. ] The Dark One is...sort of this magical being. It's this darkness, dark magic, attached to a person, it makes them do really bad things, things they would never do otherwise. The only way to stop him is the Dark One's dagger. [ Which isn't ideal, because...his grandfather. :| ] Or...True Love's Kiss.

[ There's...more to say, but it's possibly heavy enough that he wants to give them a chance to respond before launching into the rest, and what he knows and remembers about his grandfather. ]

[impetere]

And the dagger may not even be in this world to begin with.

[And that's not what they want to do in this instance to begin with - they want to find Gold, not kill him.]

How would someone find out if they were the Dark One? Is there somewhere they would go or look or a ritual or something?

[Magic is not her forte. She's just spitballing. She is also dubious of the True Love's Kiss option but she's not really one for fairy tales. In her experience, they rarely ever come true.]

[untethered]

Is there some way to know for certain?

[wanttobeahero]

To be completely sure, we'd need the dagger. Their name would be on it.

[ Which brings him to the next possible doozy... ]

In my world, though, the Dark One was...Mr. Gold. [ Uhhhh.... ] My grandfather.

[impetere]

[ . . . .

Okay, well, that's ... bad. Given that that's what Gold is looking for and he's trying to find answers. She then pauses, because since all of Henry's parents are here ... ]

On which side?

[untethered]

Your... grandfather? [ DUDE YOU DON'T LOOK MUCH YOUNGER THAN SHE IS this just got a little weird jk it's mostly just surprising because it seems like literally everyone is connected that she ever talks to ]

[wanttobeahero]

[ Belle's expression is understandable. His family tree is the most complicated, really. ]

Yeah, um, he's my father's father.

[ There's a whole lot he could say about those two not exactly having the best relationship, but that's not really important at the moment. ]

[impetere]

[Cora's hand idly strokes over the top of the dog's head next to her, letting the thoughts swirl around in her head for a moment.]

Do you think your dad might know more about how it works? If he grew up with it, maybe he knows more about where Sir Gold might have gone.

[untethered]

He never even said he... had a son.

[wanttobeahero]

He'll know a lot more. [ How much his dad wants to dredge up is something else entirely, but he trusts that he'll want to help no matter what. He's a good guy, after all. With a sympathetic look at Belle, Henry speaks again. ] Sorry, I know this is all...really complicated. And it doesn't help when you're in the dark on stuff.

I can give my dad a call? Or should we wait?

[ Might as well do it, he figures. ]

[impetere]

[Cora plans on going to track down Neal anyway to find out what he knows, but she also has enough common sense to know that this has been a lot for Belle for one night (wisdom 20 total). So she'll defer to her on this one, glancing in her direction and letting her make the choice.]

[untethered]

[ she only hesitates for a moment, really. ] Please. Call him now, if you think he won't mind.

[wanttobeahero]

I don't think he will. [ He hopes he's right about that, at least, or he'll feel bad. He already knows this isn't the most pleasant topic of conversation for his father. :| Turning and taking a few steps away from Cora and Belle so he's not being rude, he reaches for his phone and dials his dad's number. ]

[fuckingneal]

[Neal answers after a couple of rings. I'm assuming they've exchanged numbers or something???]

Henry? What's up?

[wanttobeahero]

[ Let's go with that assumption. XD ]

Dad, sorry, I know it's late. I'm in my friend Cora's room and Belle's here, too. [ Sorry, Dad. Really sorry... ] We could really use your help with something, it's about grandpa. [ He's not sure his dad knows where Cora's room is, but before launching into that, he figures he owes him a moment to agree to help or not. ]

[fuckingneal]

[Well, that makes him fucking pay even more attention.]

What? What about him? Did you find him? [He's been worried about this since day one.]

[wanttobeahero]

Not exactly. But we had questions about the Dark One and figured you might know a little more and be able to help. Belle could tell you more. [ Just the conversation he wanted to have late at night, right... :| ]

[fuckingneal]

[He just... lets out a long sigh.]

Where are you?

[wanttobeahero]

Cora's room, in the Dragon's Hide wing. I'll wait outside the door so you know which one. [ And he moves to open the door, just standing right there until his dad gets there. ]