Defying Gravity: 7/??
Title: Defying Gravity
Fandom: Once Upon A Time/Once Upon A Time In Wonderland
Characters: Rumplestiltskin, Cora, King Xavier, Prince Henry and Zelena in this chapter, more to follow but no spoilers here, dearies.
Rating: PG
Warnings: Spoilers for all of OUATIW and OUAT up to S4 but goes AU for S5.
Notes: For eternal_moonie - I couldn't have done this one without you. Chapter titles are all Defying Gravity lyrics.
Summary: What happened when Jafar's lamp was brought to Storybrooke in the curse, ended up in Gold's shop and Zelena accidentally let him out? In this chapter, as Rumplestiltskin performs his half of the bargain he made with Jafar, he remembers his past with Cora in the altered timeline where Cora had kept Zelena.
Chapter 1 is here: I'm Through With Playing By The Rules Of Someone Else's Game
Chapter 2 is here: Dreams, The Way We Planned'em, If We Work In Tandem
Chapter 3 is here: I Really Hope You Get It, And You Don't Live To Regret It
Chapter 4 is here: You Can Still Be With The Wizard, What You've Worked And Waited For
Chapter 5 is here: No Wizard That There Is Or Was Is Ever Gonna Bring Me Down
Chapter 6 is here: No One Mourns The Wicked, So We've Got to Bring Her Down
“Hello, dearie.”
Cora shot Rumplestiltskin a disdainful glance. “Rumple. What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be having one of your lessons with Zelena?”
“Zelena doesn’t need another lesson right now, Cora.” Rumplestiltskin smirked. “She’s progressing really well. I believe it will only be a matter of time before she is able to cast my curse. Just think of it, Cora dearie.” Rumplestiltskin giggled. “We could soon be living in a land without magic. Can you imagine yourself scrubbing floors by hand without any magical assistance? Of course, I forgot, silly me.” He giggled again, enjoying the look of irritation that flashed across Cora’s face. “That’s only what you’re used to from your days in the mill. So you’ll know what you’re getting into when you find yourself back there.”
“Is there a point to this conversation, Rumple?” Cora spat.
“I’m merely pointing out that it doesn’t have to be this way,” Rumplestiltskin replied. “If you were to cast the curse yourself, you would be able to choose your own fate. Whereas if you leave it to Zelena, your fate will lie in her hands. And after that conversation between you that I just witnessed, I feel that a return to your days of drudgery is beckoning.”
“You know that I no longer perform magic,” Cora replied. “And you know why. You played your part in that.”
“I am coming to realise that I may have made a mistake,” Rumplestiltskin answered. A little shamefaced glance at the floor, that was it. Cora appeared to be falling for it. “If I had allowed you to live your life as you chose, maybe then you would have been happier, and you would still be performing magic. Then maybe you would be the one I would be asking to cast the curse. Think of it, Cora. You could live the life you choose in the new world, instead of a subservient life chosen for you by the daughter you’ve never forgiven for the fact that you ended up here.”
“My actions have been for the benefit of my daughter,” Cora argued. “Can you say the same? Remind me, where is your son these days?”
Rumplestiltskin knew he couldn’t respond to that as he wanted to, because one false move would kill any hope of Cora working with him. “Well, if you agree to perform the curse, you’ll be able to ask him yourself. Zelena’s working on her magic, but I’m not sure she’s powerful enough to be able to cast the curse that I want. For the curse to work, I need you. Think of it, Cora, do you really want your daughter to take anything else away from you?”
He thought back to the days when he had first known Cora, when he had believed that she was going to abandon her plans to marry Prince Henry and run away with him. He wondered if Cora was also remembering everything that had happened all those years ago...
Rumplestiltskin wondered why Cora had chosen her parents’ mill as the place to meet. From everything she had said, he knew her to have been unhappy there throughout her life. But it was what Cora wanted, and if Cora felt the need to say a proper goodbye to her parents, then it was fine with him. It was only one day, and then it would just be the two of them.
He watched unseen from the shadows, waiting for Cora to make her escape and join him. But time went on, and Cora did not appear. Eventually, he tiptoed up to the house, glanced through the window to see if he could see her. There she was, sat talking to two people who Rumple assumed must be her parents. As Rumple watched, a small red-headed child walked into the room, and to his shock, she climbed onto Cora’s lap.
So this was what she had been hiding, the reason why she had wanted to spend that last night at home. In this one glimpse into her life, Rumplestiltskin knew that he and Cora could never have a future.
Rumplestiltskin never broke his deals, knew he never would again after he had failed to follow Baelfire into the Land Without Magic. Now Cora had made a deal with him knowing all along that it was a deal she could never possibly keep. The contract she had signed stated that Cora would give Rumplestiltskin her - their - firstborn child. Yet she had signed it knowing she could never honour that promise as she had had a child with another man.
And she was prepared to abandon her child. Rumple still often thought of the father who had abandoned him, choosing a life as an eternal child in Neverland over being the father that Rumple had always wanted and needed. And every day it haunted him that he had allowed Baelfire to jump through the portal to the Land Without Magic alone, and the reason for his curse, the whole objective of his life now was to get him back. Yet Cora was prepared to abandon her child without a second glance. Even though the reason she was leaving was for Rumplestiltskin, he couldn’t enter into a relationship with her knowing that.
He turned and walked away. He wouldn’t be meeting Cora tonight. But Rumple knew that he would find a way of reminding Cora of exactly why she should never make a deal with him that she knew she could never honour.
Rumplestiltskin watched as Cora tried, but the straw stubbornly remained straw and didn’t appear to be turning to gold any time soon.
“You’re not trying, dearie,” he said, hoping to provoke some sort of reaction. “Think back to when you did it last time. You need to remember a time you felt some anger, any kind of emotion. Because I told you before, that’s what you need to perform magic. Think of how you felt that day all those years ago. Think how you felt towards King Xavier, Prince Henry, Zelena and me.”
Fanfares sounded throughout the kingdom, the people turned out in their masses to celebrate.
“It gives me great pleasure to announce,” King Xavier began, although the smile he had plastered on his face didn’t reach his eyes, “the betrothal of my fourth son, Prince Henry, to...the lady Cora.” The townspeople knew, of course, that Cora was no more than a commoner, but none would speak out, liking their heads remaining attached to their bodies.
As Henry bowed and Cora curtsied, as the people broke out into applause, there was a loud bang and a puff of black smoke.
“Sorry I’m late, dearies!” Rumplestiltskin exclaimed. “What did I miss?”
“You are not welcome here, imp,” King Xavier began. “Remove yourself from my presence.” However, no one was listening to him, because all eyes were fixed on the person Rumplestiltskin had brought with him to the ceremony, the person who even now was detaching herself from Rumplestiltskin and rushing over to throw her arms around Cora’s waist: Zelena.
“Mommy, where have you been? Why did you leave me with Grandma and Grandpa? I thought you were never coming back!”
“What did she say?” King Xavier spluttered, face turning purple with rage. “Cora? Is this child your daughter? Were you trying to trap my son into marriage, to saddle him with someone else’s brat?”
Cora hung her head, shamefaced, unable to reply. However, Zelena’s determined sobbing and clinging to Cora’s waist spoke for itself.
“There will be no betrothal,” King Xavier announced. “The wedding is off. Cora, you are banished from my kingdom. Remove yourself from my sight.”
“You have done this,” Cora spat at Rumple, “and I shall never forgive you.”
“Your intended doesn’t seem to be saying anything to defend you,” Rumplestiltskin began. “And you chose this weak man over me, and over your child. You made your own bed, dearie.”
She turned her back on him, turned towards King Xavier and Prince Henry. There was a big puff of smoke, and everything went black...
Rumplestiltskin watched the look on Cora’s face, and knew she was remembering the same thing as he was. As he watched, the first lengths of straw slowly began to change to gold.
“You’ve done it, Cora,” Rumplestiltskin smiled. Silly Cora, he thought. She really believed that he was going to let her help him cast the curse. Instead, Cora was about to find out what happened to people who broke their deals with him...
To be continued...
Fandom: Once Upon A Time/Once Upon A Time In Wonderland
Characters: Rumplestiltskin, Cora, King Xavier, Prince Henry and Zelena in this chapter, more to follow but no spoilers here, dearies.
Rating: PG
Warnings: Spoilers for all of OUATIW and OUAT up to S4 but goes AU for S5.
Notes: For eternal_moonie - I couldn't have done this one without you. Chapter titles are all Defying Gravity lyrics.
Summary: What happened when Jafar's lamp was brought to Storybrooke in the curse, ended up in Gold's shop and Zelena accidentally let him out? In this chapter, as Rumplestiltskin performs his half of the bargain he made with Jafar, he remembers his past with Cora in the altered timeline where Cora had kept Zelena.
Chapter 1 is here: I'm Through With Playing By The Rules Of Someone Else's Game
Chapter 2 is here: Dreams, The Way We Planned'em, If We Work In Tandem
Chapter 3 is here: I Really Hope You Get It, And You Don't Live To Regret It
Chapter 4 is here: You Can Still Be With The Wizard, What You've Worked And Waited For
Chapter 5 is here: No Wizard That There Is Or Was Is Ever Gonna Bring Me Down
Chapter 6 is here: No One Mourns The Wicked, So We've Got to Bring Her Down
“Hello, dearie.”
Cora shot Rumplestiltskin a disdainful glance. “Rumple. What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be having one of your lessons with Zelena?”
“Zelena doesn’t need another lesson right now, Cora.” Rumplestiltskin smirked. “She’s progressing really well. I believe it will only be a matter of time before she is able to cast my curse. Just think of it, Cora dearie.” Rumplestiltskin giggled. “We could soon be living in a land without magic. Can you imagine yourself scrubbing floors by hand without any magical assistance? Of course, I forgot, silly me.” He giggled again, enjoying the look of irritation that flashed across Cora’s face. “That’s only what you’re used to from your days in the mill. So you’ll know what you’re getting into when you find yourself back there.”
“Is there a point to this conversation, Rumple?” Cora spat.
“I’m merely pointing out that it doesn’t have to be this way,” Rumplestiltskin replied. “If you were to cast the curse yourself, you would be able to choose your own fate. Whereas if you leave it to Zelena, your fate will lie in her hands. And after that conversation between you that I just witnessed, I feel that a return to your days of drudgery is beckoning.”
“You know that I no longer perform magic,” Cora replied. “And you know why. You played your part in that.”
“I am coming to realise that I may have made a mistake,” Rumplestiltskin answered. A little shamefaced glance at the floor, that was it. Cora appeared to be falling for it. “If I had allowed you to live your life as you chose, maybe then you would have been happier, and you would still be performing magic. Then maybe you would be the one I would be asking to cast the curse. Think of it, Cora. You could live the life you choose in the new world, instead of a subservient life chosen for you by the daughter you’ve never forgiven for the fact that you ended up here.”
“My actions have been for the benefit of my daughter,” Cora argued. “Can you say the same? Remind me, where is your son these days?”
Rumplestiltskin knew he couldn’t respond to that as he wanted to, because one false move would kill any hope of Cora working with him. “Well, if you agree to perform the curse, you’ll be able to ask him yourself. Zelena’s working on her magic, but I’m not sure she’s powerful enough to be able to cast the curse that I want. For the curse to work, I need you. Think of it, Cora, do you really want your daughter to take anything else away from you?”
He thought back to the days when he had first known Cora, when he had believed that she was going to abandon her plans to marry Prince Henry and run away with him. He wondered if Cora was also remembering everything that had happened all those years ago...
Rumplestiltskin wondered why Cora had chosen her parents’ mill as the place to meet. From everything she had said, he knew her to have been unhappy there throughout her life. But it was what Cora wanted, and if Cora felt the need to say a proper goodbye to her parents, then it was fine with him. It was only one day, and then it would just be the two of them.
He watched unseen from the shadows, waiting for Cora to make her escape and join him. But time went on, and Cora did not appear. Eventually, he tiptoed up to the house, glanced through the window to see if he could see her. There she was, sat talking to two people who Rumple assumed must be her parents. As Rumple watched, a small red-headed child walked into the room, and to his shock, she climbed onto Cora’s lap.
So this was what she had been hiding, the reason why she had wanted to spend that last night at home. In this one glimpse into her life, Rumplestiltskin knew that he and Cora could never have a future.
Rumplestiltskin never broke his deals, knew he never would again after he had failed to follow Baelfire into the Land Without Magic. Now Cora had made a deal with him knowing all along that it was a deal she could never possibly keep. The contract she had signed stated that Cora would give Rumplestiltskin her - their - firstborn child. Yet she had signed it knowing she could never honour that promise as she had had a child with another man.
And she was prepared to abandon her child. Rumple still often thought of the father who had abandoned him, choosing a life as an eternal child in Neverland over being the father that Rumple had always wanted and needed. And every day it haunted him that he had allowed Baelfire to jump through the portal to the Land Without Magic alone, and the reason for his curse, the whole objective of his life now was to get him back. Yet Cora was prepared to abandon her child without a second glance. Even though the reason she was leaving was for Rumplestiltskin, he couldn’t enter into a relationship with her knowing that.
He turned and walked away. He wouldn’t be meeting Cora tonight. But Rumple knew that he would find a way of reminding Cora of exactly why she should never make a deal with him that she knew she could never honour.
Rumplestiltskin watched as Cora tried, but the straw stubbornly remained straw and didn’t appear to be turning to gold any time soon.
“You’re not trying, dearie,” he said, hoping to provoke some sort of reaction. “Think back to when you did it last time. You need to remember a time you felt some anger, any kind of emotion. Because I told you before, that’s what you need to perform magic. Think of how you felt that day all those years ago. Think how you felt towards King Xavier, Prince Henry, Zelena and me.”
Fanfares sounded throughout the kingdom, the people turned out in their masses to celebrate.
“It gives me great pleasure to announce,” King Xavier began, although the smile he had plastered on his face didn’t reach his eyes, “the betrothal of my fourth son, Prince Henry, to...the lady Cora.” The townspeople knew, of course, that Cora was no more than a commoner, but none would speak out, liking their heads remaining attached to their bodies.
As Henry bowed and Cora curtsied, as the people broke out into applause, there was a loud bang and a puff of black smoke.
“Sorry I’m late, dearies!” Rumplestiltskin exclaimed. “What did I miss?”
“You are not welcome here, imp,” King Xavier began. “Remove yourself from my presence.” However, no one was listening to him, because all eyes were fixed on the person Rumplestiltskin had brought with him to the ceremony, the person who even now was detaching herself from Rumplestiltskin and rushing over to throw her arms around Cora’s waist: Zelena.
“Mommy, where have you been? Why did you leave me with Grandma and Grandpa? I thought you were never coming back!”
“What did she say?” King Xavier spluttered, face turning purple with rage. “Cora? Is this child your daughter? Were you trying to trap my son into marriage, to saddle him with someone else’s brat?”
Cora hung her head, shamefaced, unable to reply. However, Zelena’s determined sobbing and clinging to Cora’s waist spoke for itself.
“There will be no betrothal,” King Xavier announced. “The wedding is off. Cora, you are banished from my kingdom. Remove yourself from my sight.”
“You have done this,” Cora spat at Rumple, “and I shall never forgive you.”
“Your intended doesn’t seem to be saying anything to defend you,” Rumplestiltskin began. “And you chose this weak man over me, and over your child. You made your own bed, dearie.”
She turned her back on him, turned towards King Xavier and Prince Henry. There was a big puff of smoke, and everything went black...
Rumplestiltskin watched the look on Cora’s face, and knew she was remembering the same thing as he was. As he watched, the first lengths of straw slowly began to change to gold.
“You’ve done it, Cora,” Rumplestiltskin smiled. Silly Cora, he thought. She really believed that he was going to let her help him cast the curse. Instead, Cora was about to find out what happened to people who broke their deals with him...
To be continued...