Being prepared didn't stop Aurelia from pacing. You would have thought it might, but it didn't. She was still terrified.

She awaited Mr. Gold's return in the minuet room full of straw, where he had demanded that she pay for his help by doing the impossible. Lucas joined her, both of them holding a sleeping twin. With the other arm, Lucas stroked his wife's hand trying to calm her when she finally found herself calm enough to stand in place. She squeezed his hand back and weakly smiled. He raised her hand to his lips, trying to still her nerves. Aurelia took a deep breath as eight o'clock rounded.

In a puff of silver smoke Mr. Gold appeared. The elf looked more cheerful than ever, a twisted smirk upon his face.

"I see that you've failed once more. Such a shame, oh well. Looks like you'll have to hand over those rug rats-" Mr. Gold held out his arms.

"Not so fast, Mr. Gold." Aurelia's eyes narrowed. "Or should I say Rumpelstiltskin?"

Mr. Gold's mouth fell open like a dying fish. He stared at the Queen as she straightened up with a proud smirk.

"But that's- that doesn't mean-"

"It doesn't mean anything? Are you sure, Rumpelstiltskin? I believe it matters quite a bit." Aurelia shifted her daughters weight in her arms.

"I should have known better than to make a deal with your kind." Mr. Gold sneered. He was normally an ugly little elf, but this new hatred brought a new level of disgust to his face.

"Her kind? What do you mean by that? She's no longer a commoner and even if she was that should matter. She's amazing, intelligent, and worth far more than you." Lucas growled.

Mr. Gold almost smirked, but his most recent defeat was still weighing on him. "Not that, you foolish boy. Don't you understand that your wife isn't completely human. Isn't that how she knew my name?"

Aurelia stopped cold, color draining from her face. What did he mean by that? No... He was just trying to mess with her head one final time. He had to be.

"That- that doesn't matter. She still defeated you." Lucas straightened up.

"She may have this time, but I have not been stopped. Beware the future, your majesties. You're just injecting a tricky problem into your future... One that cannot be stopped by your curse. Or perhaps you've made this their problem now." Mr. Gold pointed a skinny finger at the twins, wiggling it back and forth between them.

Aurelia held her daughter tighter and Lucas clutched Arion to to his chest.

"GUARDS!" Lucas called.

"Oh it's not going to be that easy." Mr. Gold snarled. "Perhaps we'll meet again."

A puff of silver smoke left Aurelia and Lucas alone with their children. An ominous declare hanging in the air. When the smoke cleared they found a poem burned into the wall and the straw around them vanished with a single spool of gold left and a single piece of straw laying on top, perhaps a warning from the elf.

A broken deal,
Three travelers kneel
A vengeful vow,
The beginning of a journey starts now
A man betrayed, won't make the same mistake twice
A prince who plays it far too nice
A girl who's powers are beyond compare
The secret lies with silver hair
A princess born to complete this quest
New friendships shall be put to a test
Sadly none can win
The man of Gold shall best the surviving twin
The game of chance has high stakes
But only one will do whatever it takes.

Aurelia and Lucas were never going to escape Mr. Gold.

Fairytales don't always end with happy ever afters. Especially when that isn't The End.

WELL THAT WAS THE END OF GOLD. I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND LET ME NOW IF YOU ARE READY FOR MY SEQUEL SILVER! Tell me you're thoughts on this story in the comments and if you want to ask any questions I will be answering those in one final Q and A chapter. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you loved it.

Sincerely,
NaLulikeJolly