Broken

Rumple and I headed back to the shop together. "Follow me into the back room, Liana. There's something else that must be done."

I furrowed my eyebrows and followed him. He then went to the wardrobe and unlocked it, taking out a strange octagon shaped box. "What is that?" I asked.

Rumple opened the box and inside there was a golden necklace with a symbol on it. It was something that I recognized but I didn't know where it was from. Rumple looked up at me. "It's something that is going to get rid of Regina."

"Regina? You want to kill her?" I crossed my arms.

"Yes," he replied. "She lied to me, told me that you died. She deserves payback." Rumple gritted his teeth. I frowned at him as he took the necklace out of the box.

"Rumple," I said. He looked up at me. "Please don't go through with this."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Revenge... it's a bad habit," I said.

"What? That doesn't sound like you, Liana," he said. "You never used to care what I did to people."

"Yes," I sighed. "Well, I believe I've changed after being cursed, getting to live someone else's life. And most importantly, I don't want Regina to die for Henry's sake."

"Liana, she..."

"I know what she did, Rumple, but it is best if you just leave this alone. If you do end up going through with this... I don't know if I can see you again."

"What?" he questioned. "No, Liana, I..."
I gave him one last look before heading out of the shop.

I clearly needed to talk to someone. Amber. I mean Alice. Oh my gosh. Alice! Cheshire Cat! I can't believe I was married to the Cheshire Cat! If I was right, I knew exactly where she'd be. Off by the troll bridge, and that is exactly where I needed to go.

                +++

"Alice?" I questioned, finally making it to the troll bridge. She was sitting against the rail, throwing stones into the water.

"Liana?" she questioned, standing up and running over to me. "I can't believe it! We're both alive!"

I chuckled. "Yes, we are," I said as she hugged me. I wrapped my arms around her.

"How'd you know where I was?" she asked, removing herself from me.
I shrugged. "Lucky guess?"

She smiled. "So how are things with you and Rumple, now that the curse is broken?" she asked.

    I sighed. "How did you know I wanted to talk about that?"

    "I'm your friend silly, I know you better than you know yourself!" she giggled. "So, what's actually going on? Actually wait, before we talk... let's sit down!"

    I sighed again as we both sat by the rail, facing the stream in the western direction. "He's going to try and kill Regina because she lied to him about me dying."

    "Oh..." she said, frowning. "I did not expect that."

    "Yeah," I said. "And now... since I've been cursed, I feel different about these sorts of things. When I was his apprentice back home in the Enchanted Forest, I often participated in some of his deals, which often resulted in me killing people." I bit my lip. "But now... now that I know Henry loves her because she's his mom, I really don't want him to go through with it. I've already tried talking to him about it... but I just don't know what is going to happen... you know? And especially when I told him that I'd never see him again if he went along with his plans..." 

    "Well," started Alice. "You just need to hope for the best in this kind of situation. You do realize that...you cannot change people, right? People can only change themselves for who they want to be. And especially in Rumplestiltskin's case. You see... the darkness is possessing him, literal physical tangible darkness within his soul, it's something that he as you know cannot completely control," she explained. "So, for him, it's going to be harder to change because he does not have a normal soul. What you need to do, Liana, is be the light in his darkness, show him the good in life, and just maybe he will follow those habits. But those are up for him to decide. And plus... in my opinion, it's always best if you love the person for who they are now, as well as what they will be in the future."

    "How did you know about all that stuff?" I asked.

    "I've read a lot about the dark one in my past, always thought it was an interesting concept," she said, smiling. I nodded my head. "So, what are you going to do, Liana? Are you going to go get your man back?"

    "Yes," I smiled. "Yes, I am."

                                    +++

I finally made my way back into the shop and headed into the back to which I knew that was where he was going to be. And I was right. He was sitting down, spinning at his wheel. I haven't seen him spin since the enchanted forest, since before the curse...
I cleared my throat and came in. He turned his head to look at me. "Hi," I said.

"Hey," he said. He looked surprised to see me.

"I uh... went to see a friend," I said.

"I thought you didn't want to see me," he said.

"I didn't," I replied. "But I was worried."

"Well, the beast is gone," he said. "Regina lives."

"So, uh, you didn't get what you wanted then?" I asked.

"Well, that remains to be seen," he said.

I then noticed the chipped tea cup that sat behind him on the table. I went to pick it up. "When I was cursed, I knew you had it... but now that I remember everything... I can't believe that you still kept this old thing. My chipped cup."

I watched as he stood up and walked closer to me.  "As you know, there are many many things in this shop." He then gently took the cup from my shaking hands. "But this... This is the only thing that I truly cherish. And now, Liana, you must leave."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

"What?" I questioned.

"You must leave, because despite what you hope, Liana, I am still a monster. Unlike you, I haven't changed. You need to leave so that you can be protected from my darkness."

I sighed and placed my hands on his shoulders. He stared at me. "I don't care," I said. "You cannot control the darkness inside of you, because it was forced to be there against your will. I should have remembered that. And I want you to know that I do love you for who you are, right now. I will also love you for whoever you choose to be in the future. If you choose to be good, I will be right by your side. And if the darkness still suppresses your soul, I will still be there for you, no matter if I don't like your methods. Do you understand?" I asked. He nodded his head. "Good. Now, come here," I said, engulfing him in a hug and placing my nose on his neck. "I love you," I said again. "So much." 

"I love you too," he replied.

My stomach then started to flutter with butterflies.

I continued to hug him as he continued to hug me. And honestly, I couldn't remember when we left each other's arms because it seemed like it was an eternity.

Author's Note: And We're back folks! The start of season 2! I'm really excited to explore this season! As I hope you are excited to read it!

Oh yeah! And guess what guys? I got a really cool Henna tattoo over vacation so here's a picture: