Dark Red|| Rumpelstiltskin

Chapter 6

Ouat
Season 1, Episode 13
Skin Deep

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Richard sighed, walking up the block towards his house. Renovations had been made towards the inside to include wheelchair lifts on all of the stairs. Sure his partners would be getting a prosthetic on the body but you can only wear them for so long until it begins to ache. He looked down as he pulled his keys out of his pocket, fumbling to get the right one. As he came to the end of the block he slowed, something was wrong. His door that was once closed and securely locked now was sprawling open, revealing some of the most private parts of his life that were contained in his home to the world.

He walked up the steps and into the house, drawing the gun he carried as he examined the rooms on the ground floor. He stopped in front of his china case, among the mess there were two gaps that used to be occupied by his most important possessions. The chipped tea cup that carried such fond memories of Belle, and the first ever gift Aster had given him. He knew exactly who did this, and the person who told him what to take. By his words he would make both of them pay, and pay greatly indeed.

He ceased all movement and thought as he heard a creak coming from behind him. It didn't take any more than a second for him to turn around, pointing his gun at Emma Swan, who was also investigating the house. "Sheriff Swan." He greeted, slowly lowering his gun. Emma did the same, hooking it into the holster she wore while on duty. "Your neighbor's saw your front door open and called it in." Richard nodded slightly, gesturing to the china case that had been ransacked. "Well, it appears I've been burglarized." He mentioned, his tone was more nonchalant than it should have been.

"Funny how that keeps happening to you." Emma was being sarcastic more than she was speaking a thought of how ironic the situation was. For someone so rich and powerful, he sure did get his things stolen a lot. Richard's head nodded slightly, his hair moving as he replied. "Yeah, well, I'm a difficult man to love." Richard gestured towards the still opened door, Emma's assistance was no longer needed. "Sheriff Swan, you can go now. I know exactly what was taken and who did it. I've got it from here." He didn't need Emma Swan's interference in this mess, things would be easier for him if he didn't have to abide by the law to achieve his goal and retrieve his most precious items from the thief who had looted his home.

Emma gave Richard a pointed look, sighing as she explained, "No, you don't. This was a robbery, public menace, and if you don't tell me what you know, I will have to arrest you for obstruction of justice. I have a feeling you don't wanna be behind bars." Richard gritted his teeth, the one thing he didn't want to happen is exactly what did. He most certainly did not want to pursue a case against Moe French, he would much rather just beat him to death with his cane. He replayed Emma's words in his head hoping to find a hole in her words, and he did.

"This isn't a robbery, it's burglary. The total value of my stolen property was under $1,000, and Moe French had neither taken my property while I was in my house nor had he threatened me or hurt me using violence or weapons. This doesn't classify as public menace because it happened on private property, nor is it obstruction of justice that I don't want to construct an investigation. Now, let's talk about your shortcomings. You've neglected to call for backup before entering my house, you also failed to determine whether the break in was still in process before barging onto my property without my consent just because you got a call from my neighbor that the door is open." He was starting to reconsider following through on his ploy to put her in the Sheriff's position, even wimpy Sidney Glass was better equipped to just allow him to do whatever he wanted.

"So Ms. Swan, I do not want to press charges nor do I want to pursue an investigation. Now, if you have no more business in my house, I think it would be best if you leave." Emma frowned, she was certain that Richard would want police help to revive his stolen items. Now that she went over the facts, he was right. Legally, she had made a ton of mistakes but she used to be a bail bondsperson so it wasn't like she knew the procedures off the top of her head. She would have to look into the name he had mentioned, that was the only lead she had at the moment. Surely he would want his things returned, even if he had refused to allow an investigation. She frowned, turning to walk towards the door, she was going to recover his things.