Once We are Descendants

Chapter 41: Rationale

Uma steps back in fear. She didn't expect this old man to be able to conjure up fireballs and who knows what else. She may have magic of her own, but it's a far cry from what she is seeing right now. Her heart leaps from her chest into her throat and she's unable to really speak or breathe. She immediately regrets the taunts she made towards this man, especially teasing him about his affliction with a cane. She feels stupid for trying to pick a fight with him, the impulsivity of her nature likely to become her downfall if she doesn't de-escalate the situation soon. Her sword lowers slowly with hesitation and fear. She tries to remain brave, but the fact that she has picked a fight with a very powerful sorcerer has shaken her confidence extremely hard.

Rumple can sense the girl's hesitation, pleased that her stubborn ego has been deflated and is finally allowing common sense to take over. She needs to realize that she is no match for him in any shape or form. It was very unlikely that he would do anything to harm the child, he was a far bigger person than that, but her next few actions should be thought out very carefully.

"W-Who are you?" Uma finally manages to squeak out.

"My name is Rumpelstiltskin, and I am the Dark One. Do you know what that is?"

The daughter of Ursula shakes her head, her turquoise braids shuddering with the movement.

"The Dark One is the embodiment of all the darkness that has ever existed in the realms. A revenge-fueled woman once drank from the Holy Grail and became the darkness that exists in the minds of all people and within the very fabric of these many worlds. The wrong side of a coin, that gives the person unimaginable power, very little can defeat such a capability. The lust for revenge and of anger from one dark-hearted woman becomes a lust for power; destroying the good nature or kindness that may have scarcely even existed inside the individual cursed with this wretched gift. We live eternally, beings that hang in the shadows; we continue to frighten and harm those foolish enough to become connected to us and to above all, snuff out the light. We destroy anything and everything that stands in our way of this mission... Now, are you still willing to taunt me, continue to call me a crippled old man?"

Uma swallows her fear heavily and takes another step back. Her back is now against the counter of the shop. Several books and the cash register are stacked on top of the surface and the teenage pirate feels cornered, with no way of escaping.

With great reluctance and embarrassment, she finally lowers her cutlass completely.

"Wise choice," Rumple grins and he extinguishes his fireball. "Now that you've had your history lesson and learned your place, I can assume that you came through the portal with all those other nuisances, and from what I've learned just recently, you all have alternate parents in this town. Who are your parents?" The purple-haired one had likely mentioned this one's parentage before, but it had slipped his mind as it seemed like an unimportant detail to his personal situation at the time.

"Why should I answer that question?" Uma snaps back, crossing her arms angrily. "You just threatened my life and where I come from, if someone threatens your life and then asks you questions, you either fight or die trying."

"That is exactly why you should answer me. If you want to leave this shop alive, I recommend that you do so."

"Since when do you rule this town?" she snarls stubbornly.

"I don't, but I am the most powerful being within it and I have the power to do whatever I want to you. Would you like to spend the rest of your life as a sea urchin?"

Uma glares at her opponent and remains silent; despite being deathly afraid of this "Rumpelpiltskin" or whatever his name was, she wasn't going to be a coward. She was going to remain strong and defiant to his demands. She'd never listened to adult authority before, they'd never helped her or they would simply threaten her life like they were doing now. She is not going to fold like a piece of paper, she listens to herself and only herself.