Prologue

"Well, dearie, I wasn't expecting this!"

The Princess' hand froze in mid-air, just centimetres from her son's forehead, and she turned to face the speaker. "And I wasn't expecting you." she bit out, pushing herself onto her feet and meeting his gaze. "People who want an audience with the royal family normally make appointments."

"I only want an audience with you." The Dark One giggled, the noise making the Princess shudder. "And if I were you, I wouldn't be talking about normal. It's not normal for unwed Princesses to have children, is it, Emma?"

Seeing his eyes dart towards the sleeping boy, Emma took a step closer to the bed, her body blocking the view of her son's face. "Why are you here?"

"To offer you a deal." he answered with a flourish of his hands. "Why else?"

"I don't need a deal so you might as well leave us all alone." Emma stated, clenching her fists and glancing around for anything she could use as a weapon. "Our family swore not to deal with you ever again, and I'm not going to change that for some deal I don't even want."

"Oh, I'm making this deal no matter what you say. And if I were you, I wouldn't try and alert anyone. We don't need any unnecessary casualties." Rumplestiltskin sung, taking a few steps towards the bed. "But of course I will tell you what the deal is. I will stop this never-ending war with the Evil Queen and, in return, I will get your son."

Emma's eyes widened, one hand falling lightly onto her boys shoulder. "Why?" she stammered, her free hand clenching the fabric of the dress.

"No need to bother with the whys. If that's your only question, then I guess you agree to my offer."

"I don't agree to your offer." Emma snarled. "Last time I checked, you weren't exactly on my family's side. Why would you offer your help now?"

"Well, there is only one thing I truly want, dearie." The Dark One chanted, his eyes locking on the sleeping child. "And seeing as there doesn't seem to be a way for me to have that, I have decided to settle for second best."

"And that's Henry, is it?"

"Not many people know that I had a son." Rumplestiltskin sang, raising a finger as a warning for Emma to stay quiet. "The people who knew him have been dead for a very long time. I've been looking for him for just as long. I finally found a way to track him down. A way that is probably much too complex for you to understand. All you need to know is that is involves blood. It should have directed me to him, my only blood relation. Instead, it leads me here. Do you have any idea why that would happen?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "Because it's faulty."

"Don't try to explain it." Rumplestiltskin warned, stepping close and placing a finger on the tip of her nose, ignoring how Emma tried to step away. "I know exactly why that would happen. Only one location can be shown, and with no family in this world, I would be able to see where he was, no matter what realm. But instead, I was told that he was here. Right here. That means, dearie, that your little prince, well, he's related to me. My grandson, I'd wager. No one knows who his father is, after all."

"Baelfire?" Emma breathed, entranced by the imps tale. "Baelfire was your son?"

"And so my theory is proven true!" Rumplestiltskin laughed, flicking his hand and watching as Emma flew away from her son's side. "And now, I want the last remaining link to my son. At least until I can search once again."

"You can't just take him!" Emma insisted, struggling to get closer to her son. "And I will not let you have him."

"Dearie, I've already decided on the deal." Rumplestiltskin said, his voice lowering to a more threatening tone. "And you will take it. The war has been on for twenty-eight years. Surely it is a worthy cause, your son in exchange for the end of all the fighting. But don't worry. I'll make it easier for you. You won't even remember you had him. And neither will anyone else."

He finally fell silent, his attention leaving Emma and focusing on Henry, his golden hand resting on Henry's shoulder, exactly where Emma's hand had been. Free from what had been holding her back, Emma rushed at him, the imp using his free hand to grab her. Emma opened her mouth to shout out, to finally wake Henry, but with a last giggle from the Dark One, everything went black.

Finally starting a new story! I'm not sure about how regular the updates will be as I'm pretty busy at university. It's my first Once Upon A Time story, but I hope you all enjoy it. It will, eventually, be Captain Swan and it's based on quite a few different fairy tales. If all goes to plan, it should be pretty long. Most chapters should be longer than this.

Also, if anyone is interested in being a beta-reader, I'd love that!

I don't need reviews but I would really appreciate some!

-ArtjuiceRP