Prologue: The Price

The Evil Queen frowned as she looked at the prison where her mentor was currently residing.

Rumple was giggling uncontrollably from the back of his cell. For a minute there, Regina wondered if he had truly lost it. Regina knew that Dark Ones were known to be insane. But throughout the Imp's tutelage, Regina found him anything but mad.

"What is it today and royal visits," The imp said turning his freak eyes onto her.

After years of being taught, Regina didn't grimace at the imp like most people would. She took in the scaly skin, messy hair, and eerie gold eyes and shook her head. "Really, you couldn't comb your hair in here, Rumple?"

He shrugged. "No point. Most people aren't here to discuss my stellar looks, dearie."

Regina laughed.

"I know you didn't come here for chit chat either," Rumple said. "You want to talk about the curse."

"Yes," Regina said. "There have been issues."

He smiled like he had expected her to say as much. "Of course, there are. I couldn't give all my secrets away. Not without a price."

Regina winced. She should've suspected as much. It was never easy with Rumple. He always had some sort of ulterior motive that she could never quite figure out. She should've known that sacrificing her prized stallion wouldn't be enough.

"What do you want?"

"Now where's the fun in that? Aren't you going to hiss and spew a little bit? Maybe try to guess."

Regina glared at him. "Time is limited. Might I remind you that I am a wanted 'fugitive' and you're in a jail cell. Which by the way, super smart move, letting Cinderella and the Blue Fairy of all people trick you."

He shrugged. "It doesn't really matter, does it?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"The curse, dearie." He said, "Once the curse takes us to 'The World Without Magic' I won't be in a jail cell because of what you're going to do."

Now they were getting there. It didn't take him that long. Usually there was a lot of more back and forth and pontificating. He had always been one for what he coined verbal foreplay. Besides the maid, it seemed like the only thing that he got any joy out—which to Regina was disturbing.

At the thought of the maid, Regina inwardly smirked. She didn't trust the imp, and if push came to shove, she had something to use against him. Currently, the girl was locked up in one of her dungeons. In the new world, Regina was currently contemplating if whether or not she should throw her into a mental hospital or prison.

Either way, she would not be allowed to live a mundane curse life. She didn't need to have the added risk of the imp one day coming to his senses and knowing what Regina did.

"And how exactly am I going to be successful with said curse when I told you that it's not working."

"Because I'm going to help you solve that issue, dearie. I'm taking it your sacrifice did not work?"

So, he knew what the problem with the curse was In fact, he probably set her up. Damn imp.

"Maybe," Regina said.

"Oh, there's no maybe about it." The imp said his voice slightly higher pitched than it was before.

"Shut up." Regina said. "You're forgetting who's in the jail cell."

"I don't think so." Rumple said. "I might physically be behind bars, dearie. But you are the one truly locked up, ever since Snow White killed your sweet Danny Poo way back in the day. And you're only going to get your freedom if you help me."

As hard as she tried to ignore his drivel, he had a point. Gripping the bars Regina said, "What do you want, Rumple? A good life? A life where you're the richest man in town? I can do that. I can give you power and wealth."

He shook his head and said, "No. What I want is not to be trapped. I want you to write a life for me outside of the town line where I can move around the world if need be. Where I won't be penalized for moving around. Where you won't control me."

Regina glared at him. "I don't know if I can do that."

"You can do it," He said. "You're forgetting I created the curse. I know what can and cannot be done."

"Yet, you're not casting it yourself."

"I told you, I don't have the ability to cast said curse. Only you do, dearie."

Regina glared at him. She wanted to know his game, but as it stood he was the only one who had been willing to help her. All the other evildoers in the kingdom acted like she was insane for wanting to cast something so dark.

And they called themselves villains.

"Scowling doesn't suit you, your majesty." Rumple said looking at her. "Besides, where would the fun be without some word play and mystery?"

"I would feel like I'm not being used or hoodwinked into something terrible."

"But you're not," Her mentor said. "You're getting what you want. Your very own happily ever after. All I ask is not to be there. Shouldn't be that hard to do. I just don't want to be a part of the misery. I think I'd like to retire to someplace far, far, away while everyone is living miserably ever after. I'd think you'd like that too"

Regina frowned for a moment, but thought about it. She knew that if she stalled on the deal any longer than need be, Rumple would tailor it more to fit his needs. At the same time she couldn't be rash about it, she needed to think about it.

Getting rid of Rumple would be ideal. It would leave her with the entire town at her own bidding, but at the same time she knew he had to have some sort of alternative motive and she needed to make sure he wasn't in her way again.

And she might just have an idea. Which was why she smiled at the imp and said, "I think that can be arranged. Now, how do I enact the curse?"

"First we need to shake on it, dearie and you make the adjustments with yours truly here. I am not going to get betrayed by the likes of you."

Regina nodded and inwardly rolled her eyes. She was going to betray him, but she was going to be careful about it. Right now though, she needed to let him think she won.

He smiled at her after she made the proper oath and then made the adjustments to the curse as he suggested. He then said, "The curse can be enacted by sacrificing the thing you love the most."

"But the horse—"

"The horse isn't enough Regina. Surely, there's someone that your black heart still cares about."

Regina's heart sank.

"No."

"Oh, yes." Rumple said. "Your daddy. The fair Prince Henry. Sad to say, if you want the curse to set you're going to have to rip his heart out and turn it into dust. Such a sad, sad, thought."

He giggled after he said this and that was all Regina needed to be able to do what she did next, pull out the imp's heart.

It was surprisingly unscathed from darkness. She knew that he had probably casted a preservation spell on it long ago, because she had seen the sort of wickedness that Rumple was able to do.

He gasped at her, as if surprised that she had the guts to take the Dark One's heart out of his body.

"Oh, yes," Regina said. "You taught me well, Rumple."

She squeezed it for good measure watching in delight as her mentor dropped to the floor before releasing it.

"And yet, you didn't do a protection spell on yourself."

Rumple glared at her and muttered something about squid ink.

Regina smirked as she juggled his heart from one hand to the other. "Well, I got to hand it to the Blue Fairy, Snow White, and the Chump about that."

"We had a deal," The imp said when he was able to catch his breath.

"Yes," Regina said as the heart settled in one of her hands. "We did. And I did put a clause to allow you to roam around the world without of magic in the curse. The thing is, Rumple, when you're dead—well, that clause sort of becomes irrelevant. Even though it's technically still there."

And then she squeezed. Squeezed until the heart became dust, which she scattered all over the jail cell as her mentor's body slumped to the ground.

Regina smirked before poofing herself away in a mound of purple smoke. Failing to notice that a dark red smoke vanished from the jail cell a split second later and would eventually settle in a place known as Godric's Hollow in England after she casted her ill-fated curse. Allowing a stillborn infant, to be reborn as the Dark One.