#sorry for dropping so many limbus posts in so little time

[sl4sherselfie]

faust core

[nerdywriter15]

Once Upon a Stardust: Chapter 8/?

Summary: Follows the basic plot of the movie Stardust with a Captain Swan twist. In an attempt to win the affection of Neal Cassidy, Emma Swan leaves her home in the town of Storybrooke and travels to the Kingdom of Misthaven in search of a fallen star. Once there, she discovers that the star is in fact a person, a man who goes by the name of Killian Jones. Together, they must face many dangers, including sorcerers and pirates, in an attempt to return Emma to Storybrooke and Killian back to the sky.

Rating: T (It’s probably more K+ but I want to be safe. Also, the rating will remain the same throughout the whole thing.)

Word Count: ~ 2,731

Catch Up: Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7

Read on FanFiction, AO3

Notes: Hi, everyone! I’m finally back. I’m so, so sorry for the long wait, but I have finally returned to this story. If you’re still with me, thank you so much for sticking with it! I’m going to have a lot of free time over the next couple months so I’m going to do my best to finish this story up within that time. Even if that doesn’t end up happening, I promise I will finish it eventually! Hope you enjoy, and thanks so much for reading! Also, I apologize for any errors! I was really excited to post so I didn’t edit as much as I normally do!

Rumplestiltskin stood atop a large hill, looking around as he inhaled the cool, crisp air. It had been necessary to retreat from society once his appearance started to deteriorate, both to conserve energy and to keep prying eyes from inquiring about his strange looks. While scales covering a person's face was not unheard of, it was certainly not something that one saw every day and was sure to attract some unwelcome questions. And unwelcome questions almost always led to unnecessary deaths.

He couldn't dally for too long though. He knew with no amount of uncertainty that at least one other person in Misthaven must have seen the falling star. Time was of the essence.

As he made his way down the hill and toward the road, he noticed a small white cottage about a quarter of a mile ahead of him. The house had a pen in front of it, which contained a brown goat. Off to the side of the pen stood a small cart.

As he neared the house, he considered continuing on foot, but quickly decided against it. Any trouble that came from acquiring the cart was sure to be minuscule in comparison with the time (and magic) he would save. And saving magic was indeed imperative. The more magic he used, the faster the star’s magic would wear off and the faster he would return to his former scaled state.

Figuring he might as well try his luck, he approached the cart and began quickly untying it from the tree. He then walked over to the pen, opened the gate, and began leading the goat toward the cart.

"What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?" he heard someone from behind him shout.

He turned around to see a sandy-haired man with blue eyes walking around the side of the house, his arms crossed over his chest. Rumplestiltskin barely suppressed rolling his eyes as he plastered what he hoped was a remorseful look on his face.

"Begging your pardon, sir," he said. "But I’ve just gotten word that my son is deathly ill and in need of my help. I’m trying to get to Brooke. But it’s a long journey for an old man with only his feet."

The man’s expression softened. "I really wish I could help you," he said. "Truly, I do. But I’m afraid that cart requires two goats to pull it and my other one just died a week ago."

It wasn’t the ideal situation, Rumplestiltskin thought, but it could be easily remedied.

"Well if all I’m missing is a goat…" he said, waving his hand and enveloping the man in a puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared, it wasn’t a goat standing in front of him, but rather a fox.

"Must be a little rusty," he said waving his hand again and generating another cloud of smoke. When the smoke dissipated, it was indeed a goat standing before him, its coat the same sandy color as the man’s hair.

"Come on," he said, guiding the newly formed goat toward the cart and fastening him in. Once that was done, he proceeded to hitch the other goat to the cart and then headed to the back and took the reins. Looking down, he saw that the green scales had returned to his right hand, starting at his fingertips and extending down to the center of his palm.

"I’ll have to be more careful going forward," he murmured to himself before urging the goats onward.

He rode for about an hour before he spotted a covered wagon in the distance. He could see a steady rise of smoke from behind it, which meant there was a fire going. Hoping he could perhaps hustle his way into a meal and save himself the energy of conjuring one out of thin air, he directed the cart in the direction of the wagon.

As he got closer, he could feel a hint of magic in the air, the force of it getting stronger as he approached. It wasn’t light magic, but dark, like his. For a moment, he considered turning back. Interacting with another magic user seemed risky, especially with something as precious as a star on the loose. Still, it might prove to be an opportunity to get some information about the star’s whereabouts.

"Who goes there?"

A woman with blonde, curly hair came around the back of the wagon. She wore a flowing purple dress with an ornate crown atop her head. But the thing that was truly striking about her was the large fireball, also tinted purple, that burned in the palm of her right hand.

Although it had been many years since he’d ventured outside of his lair, Rumplestiltskin knew exactly who the woman standing before him was.

"Put your fireball away, Maleficent," he said. "I swear to you on the laws that bind all magic users that I mean you no harm. I simply wished to see if I might share a meal with you before continuing on my way."

She looked at him for a moment, clearly trying to parse out whether he was telling the truth, before extinguishing the fireball.  

"Right this way," she said beckoning toward him before disappearing to the other side of the wagon.

Rumplestiltskin dismounted the wagon and led the goats forward, tying them to a post that Maleficent had fastened her own horses too before following her around to the wagon’s other side. He saw an open fire with some type of creature — a rabbit he would guess — roasting on it. Maleficent was sitting on a stool right beside it. On the ground right beside her foot was a small, white bird.

With a wave of Maleficent's hand and a puff of purple smoke, the bird transformed into a woman. She was in her mid to late thirties and had pale white skin and a mane of long, dark hair. Rumplestiltskin couldn’t help but think that she looked somewhat familiar.

"Get our guest a seat," Maleficent said to the woman, who nodded and hurried off to the wagon. Rumplestiltskin couldn’t help but notice that a small silver chain, which was attached to the wagon’s wheels, rested around her ankle.

So the woman is Maleficent’s slave, he thought. This made the fact that she seemed familiar even more intriguing, but he couldn’t quite place her, even when she returned with a stool for him to sit on.

"That will be all," Maleficent said, and with another wave of her hand and puff of purple smoke, the woman once again transformed into a bird.

"What would you like?" Maleficent asked, gesturing toward the rabbit as Rumplestiltskin took a seat on the stool. "Heads or tails?"

"Heads," he answered, and Maleficent nodded before waving her hands yet again. A plate with the rabbit’s head appeared in his lap while another plate with its lower half appeared in Maleficent’s.

Not bothering with table manners at all, Rumplestiltskin grabbed the rabbit in his right hand and took a bite, closing his eyes and giving a sigh of pleasure as the food met his tongue. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was. He brought it back up to his mouth and began to eat ravenously.

"So what brings you to Misthaven?" he heard Maleficent ask.

"I seek a fallen star," he said, his mind more focused on his meal than what he was saying. "And when I find her, I shall cut out her heart, become immortal, and…"

He stopped short, realizing what had just escaped his mouth. He dropped the plate on the ground and looked up to see Maleficent staring at him with a wry smirk on her face.

"Limbus grass!" he exclaimed. "You dare to make me spill my secrets to you by using limbus grass?"

"Yes," Maleficent replied defiantly. "And it was indeed worth it. A fallen star is not common in these parts."

Feeling anger pool in his belly, Rumplestiltskin raised his hands. Storm clouds gathered behind him and lightning coursed through the sky, followed by a clap of thunder. Maleficent fell to her knees and stared up at his face in horror. He himself was, of course, unable to see his own face, but he knew that Maleficent was seeing his true form.

"Rumplestiltskin!" she exclaimed. "I had no idea! Had I known I was in the presence of someone so great, so powerful, I would never have dared! I swear to you, I will not seek the star!"

"Oh, no, you won’t, dearie," he said, pointing his finger at her, hitting her with a blast of burgundy lightning. "You shall not see the star, touch it, smell, or hear it!" he said as the lightning pulsed through her body, raising her slightly off of the ground. "You will not perceive them even if they stand before you!"

With those final words, the lightning disappeared and the storm calmed. Maleficent fell to the ground, unconscious but alive. Rumplestiltskin briefly thought about killing her, but he had already sworn upon the laws of magic not to do so. It was best not to trifle with such promises.

With a reluctant sigh, he turned around, and got back in his cart, unfastening the goats with a wave of his hand. He grabbed hold of the reins and urged them forward.

~/~

Regina sat astride her black stallion Rocinante, urging him forward as he thundered along the edge of a white sand beach. She could feel the wind rushing past her face and tangling in her long, dark hair. When she was around others, she always had it pinned up, one of her many tactics to inspire respect and fear amongst the kingdom’s subjects. But she was all alone now. And the mission that she was currently on required her to look less intimidating than she normally did. She wanted to lull the person she was seeking out into a false sense of security.

She urged Rocinante on, toward a wall of cliffs that sat along the edge of the water. As they approached, she slowed him down and dismounted. She gently patted him on his snout, taking his bridle off. He was a loyal horse and could be trusted not to run off on his own. Giving him a chance to wander around a bit was the least she could do for the horse that she considered a better companion than most humans in her life.

After parting with the horse, Regina made her way along the edge of the cliffs until she found her destination: a small cave. To the untrained eye, it would be difficult to even know it was there. But Regina had been here many times before. The cave was home to a fortune teller whose predictions were always accurate. As soon as her mother had died, Regina had sought him out, hoping to find the whereabouts of her mother’s stone. But so far, none of the advice she had received had helped her.

"Welcome back, my child," she heard someone mutter as she entered the cave. At a small wooden table in the center of the table sat a haggard old man, with scraggly grey hair and an even more disheveled beard. Across the table was strewn a variety of brightly colored bottles and different herbs and spices. A small hammock hung in the corner, alongside a small fireplace that Regina knew must have been magically conjured. On the opposite wall was a shelf hewn out of the rock, on which rested different a pile of small stones with various markings on them -- runes -- and a few large books.

"I trust your quest for your mother’s stone has proven fruitful?" the fortune teller asked.

"That is why I’m here," she said. "Your runes seem to have pointed me in the wrong direction. I have had no luck."

"Reading the future can be a tricky thing." He rose from his seat at the table and headed over to the shelf, picking up some small stones with various markings on them. "Shall I consult the runes again?"

"Yes, but I want to try something."

"I’m here to serve you."

"Try throwing them in the air," she said. "Throw them high."

He did as she asked. As they came down, she asked, "Is my name Regina?"

The fortune teller caught the runes in his hand. All of them had fallen so that she could see their symbols.

"Let’s try this again," she said.

The fortune teller regarded her dubiously, but once again threw the stones in the air.

"Is my favorite color blue?" she asked.

The stones fell into the fortune teller’s palm again. This time, their blank sides were all facing up.

"One last thing," Regina said. "This time throw them even higher."

The fortune teller opened his fist and launched the runes into the air. Regina waited until they stopped rising and then spoke.

"Are you working for my sister?" she asked before pushing the fortune teller to the floor and sticking out her hand to catch the runes.

They landed in her hand, each and every one facing up.

Regina let the runes fall to the ground before dropping to her knees and shoving her hand into the fortune teller’s chest. Her fingers closed around his heart and she heard him let out an audible gasp.

Normally she would have pulled the heart out and crushed it, as she had done with so many others, but his gasp of pain — so similar to Johanna's just a few days ago — gave her pause.

She’s not here anymore. You don’t have to act cold and cruel to get her approval.

Johanna’s dying words played in her head against her will. She tried to brush them aside, tried to pull the heart out, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

With a growl, she withdrew her hand and stood.

"I should kill you for this," she said, watching as the fortune teller lay back on the floor, panting as though he had just sprinted a mile. "I won’t today. But if I get wind of you helping her ever again, I will not hesitate to come back here. And you will wish that I had crushed your heart today."

And with that, she scooped the runes off of the ground, stuffed them into the pocket of her dress, and stalked out of the cave. Now that she had them, the stone was as good as hers. She just had to ask in which direction she should travel.

~/~

Killian sat with his back against the tree. The Swan girl had been gone for what felt like hours. He was starting to wonder if something had happened to her, and if so, what would happen to him if she didn’t return.

Would he die of hunger? Thirst? Would a wild animal eat him before either of those things happened?

The sun fell below the horizon and with every rustle of the trees, his imagination ran wild. Was there someone out there? Did they know he was a star and were they coming to cut out his heart?

Eventually he heard the unmistakable sounds of something walking through the bushes ahead of him. There was definitely something there this time. Even though he knew it wouldn’t help him any, he stood to meet his foe. His body trembled and he could hear his breathing speeding up. All of those noises ceased, however, when the figure finally emerged from the bushes.

A white unicorn walked forward, stopping right in front of him. Killian reached his hand out to stroke its main.

"Care to help me with this?" he asked, gesturing toward the chain.

The unicorn looked him straight in the eyes before turning its horn on the chain. With a sharp swipe, it fell to the ground. Killian knelt down and gathered it up, wrapping it around his wrist before standing up again.

"Thank you, my friend," he said. "I don’t suppose you could help get me out of here?"

The unicorn moved its head up and down in what seemed to be a nod. Mindful of his injury, Killian hobbled over and successfully — if albeit clumsily — mounted the creature. Once he was comfortable, he tapped the unicorn lightly on the neck. It whinnied in response and trotted off at a light pace into the night.