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]

[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. ]

[fuckingneal]

Got it. [Throwing on some more appropriate clothing, Neal moves quickly for the Hide wing, spotting Henry and giving him a nod.]

Hey.

[wanttobeahero]

Hey, dad. Thanks for coming so fast. [ He smiles softly and leads him into the room, clearing his throat. He knows Cora already knows his dad, so. ] Belle, this is my dad, Neal.

[fuckingneal]

[Neal nods to Cora and then Belle, clearly nervous about...all of this.]

How can I help?

[untethered]

[ belle looks him over, seeking anything physically familiar, anything reminiscent of the man she loves, but manages to say: ] We were hoping you might help us.

We're looking for... for your father.

[impetere]

[Cora glances between the three of them for a moment, before opting to try and sum up what the problem is.]

He contacted Belle through a dream. He said that he's looking for more answers about the Dark One and what that means for him. We were hoping that maybe you might have some information about him that could help us figure out where he would go, or at least what he might be looking for.

[It doesn't necessarily have to be about the magic end of it. Gold is Neal's father, that means Neal might have insights the rest of them don't - hopefully, if he remembers them.]

This probably isn't the kind of thing he should be doing alone.

[fuckingneal]

He's.. [He shouldn't be surprised. Of course his father would try to take the Dark One power back. Or maybe he's looking for the dagger. God, he's not even sure.]

I have no idea, honestly. All that stuff isn't from this realm. It's from back home. All I can think he'd be doing here is trying to hunt down people that know about dark magic.

[untethered]

[ belle doesn't want to ask this, but she knows she has to, knows that neal might be one of the only people who can give her a good answer to this question. ] How... how far do you think he'd go to find these answers?

[wanttobeahero]

[ There's still a lot Henry doesn't know about his father and his grandfather, but he's not naive, he's got a decent sense of how hard this must have been - and still is - for his dad. But he's such a hero to Henry because he'll still help if he can. ]

[fuckingneal]

[Neal lets out a really long exhale.]

As far as it takes. It's the only thing he's ever truly cared about.

[noT BITTER OR ANYTHING.]

[impetere]

[That ... sounds appropriately foreboding, especially with how dangerous magic can get in this world. She's still learning a lot of it, but she at least knows that much.]

So I guess now we have to find him before he goes too far.

[There's a pause, before she glances back to Belle. She knows she didn't want to take this higher up before because she didn't want to get Gold in trouble, but this seems like they need all the help they can get.]

Should we tell Wynn?

[untethered]

[ she looks between them all in turn, the weight of this decision clearly heavy on her heart, but she finally meets cora's eyes and nods once. ] It might be the only way to keep him safe.

[impetere]

[Her hand reaches over to find Belle's again, giving it a small squeeze because she knows how hard that is for her. But sometimes the best thing you can do for a person is stop them.]

I'll go with you. Or I can go, if you guys want to ...

[The three of them clearly had a lot to talk about and she was the odd girl out who's personal investment wasn't Gold, not really.]

[fuckingneal]

The sooner we get to Wynn, the sooner we can stop him. [He couldn't do anything about it before when he was a kid, but he'll be damned if he lets this happen again.]