Once We are Descendants

Chapter 59: Poor Unfortunate Souls

While Rumpelstiltskin never spoke the words, it was clear from the looks of realization on the women's faces that they knew what this meant. Neither could breathe in the horror of this newfound awareness.

Ursula leans against the deputy's chair in absolute horror and disbelief. Her human legs have become weak to the point where she can barely stand up any longer, but the other contributing factor could be that she hadn't used them in such a long time. She tries to even her breathing out as she feels herself going into a panic-like state, cutting off air into her lungs. Her eyes go from the shell in the Dark One's hand to the young girl in the holding cell, completely at a loss of what to say. She can definitely see the resemblance between them; her eyes were the dead give away, and if she took the braids away and inserted thick black or blonde ringlets, the two would be mirror images of one another. It causes the cecaelia's heart to skip a few beats in horror. Her mind wants to deny it, but the truth was staring at her from the holding cell. Her hand shakily finds her own shell, squeezing it so tightly that it could very well crumble in her grasp.

Uma's brown eyes stare at the woman for a long period of time. She sees the exact same necklace around this stranger's neck... after all, it was her mother's... Her reaction is no better as she too gazes at the woman in confusion, fear, and a whole lot of anger. While this woman could pass in appearance as her mother, she was much prettier and also lacked the tentacles that her mother would whip at the slightest sign of disobedience from her "employee." That's all Uma ever was to her mother anyways, an employee, someone to work the night shift and buss the tables at the fish and chips place. When the flashbacks of her mother's barking voice and unruly tentacles coming towards her face enter her mind, the pirate captain's hands grasp the bars so tightly, all the colour disappears from her knuckles. She grinds her teeth in pure rage as the boiling sensation courses through her veins, filling her entire being to the point where she's a time bomb, just waiting to explode. It seemed that only her disbelief and confusion kept this rage from exploding and it was fortunate that the Dark One was holding the shell, the source of her magic because if the reckless teenager had it, the Storybrooke Sheriff's station would likely be nothing but ruins by now.

The two women stare at each other. Mother and daughter spooked beyond all measure from this sudden revelation. The minutes stretch on, only the breathing of the stunned females and the internal chuckling of Rumpelstiltskin, revelling in the chaos that he had created with a few simple words and a seashell. While he has sworn off doing malicious and villainous acts for the sake of his family, especially for the sanity of his wife and daughter; he couldn't help but live up to the impish nature of his name and cause some form of madness and mischief. The silence was music to his ears and he delighted in the bewildered faces of his "victims."

However, this smirk does not last very long. Eventually, Ursula recovers enough to finally react. She allows her necklace to glow and her tentacles reappear in a flash of bright light. She then lashes out at the evil man and wraps one of her appendages around his throat. If Uma was still unconvinced at the possibility that this woman was her mother, that went out the window the moment the slimy limbs appeared. The teenager releases the bars of the cell and takes a step back in complete shock, unconsciously reacting the way she usually does when tentacles come towards her.

"What... what kind of trick are you pulling Dark One?!" the cecaelia demands angrily.

While the imp is shocked by this sudden attack, he should not be surprised that the former Queen of Darkness would retaliate so violently. The queens were not known for their calm and just demeanours. As the green tentacle slowly cuts off his airway, he can't help but manage a smug smile, still enjoying the confusion. He knew an immortal could not be killed, but he decides to let her believe this for a few moments.

"You're wearing thin on my patience you demonic sea monkey!" she snarls, the tentacle becoming tighter.

"Perhaps you should remove your limb and allow my lungs air to let me explain," he sputters in good humour.

Despite the lack of air, Rumpel remains completely calm, he lifts his hand up to the green limb and gently uses his dark magic to force the appendage to uncoil, which causes discomfort and slight pain to the sea witch. She grimaces, while still keeping eye contact with the Dark One.

"Lady Ursula, I assure you, this is no trick. No illusion or mirage or dark spell. This girl, Uma is as real as you and I are... and the resemblance is undeniable is it not? She certainly has your eyes"

"T-This is not possible. I-I don't have children! I've never had children... I don't want children!"

The last words stung Uma slightly from within her cell. She bites her lip in pain. It appears that both versions of her mother wanted the same thing... to be childless. A common factor for a lot of Isle parents apparently.

"Positive support," he mutters sarcastically before walking over and depositing the bag of food from Granny's on the floor in the cell.

"I assumed that you would prefer a hamburger considering Granny does not serve seafood."

"Is that a joke?" Uma snaps. She remains standing in the middle of the cell, wary about what the Dark One was presenting to her; the man who had threatened her with a fireball and told her his origins less than 24 hours ago.

"Your temper is a fascinating thing. You must get it from your mother..." he chuckles to her. "My daughter's sarcasm has rubbed off on me more than I had anticipated...I also put onion rings in there as well, a lovely change from the Isle food I've heard about from your companions."

"Isle?" Ursula asks curiously.

"Where the alternate version of you is imprisoned, and where this child is from."

"What the hell are you talking about?" the sea witch demands, her mind a whirlwind of questions. None of this is possible. She never had a relationship with anyone in The Land Without Magic, which now seems sad when she thinks about it, she's never been to an island, and she sure as hell has not carried any children.

"It would appear that some time should be taken to explain everything, but I recommend eat those things while they are hot young Uma. Let your mother and I have a bit of discussion."

"She is NOT my mother," the daughter of Ursula hisses.

She picks up the paper bag of food and opens it. She sniffs at the burger suspiciously, eyeing the Dark One as she does so. It doesn't smell poisoned, but for all she knows, Mal tainted it with something too. However, the longer she hesitates, the hungrier she becomes. Her stomach growls aggressively, craving the delicious meal presented to her, considering she never got the chance to eat from her stolen stash yesterday. The goody goodies have probably already returned everything by now. The amount of love righteousness in this town made her sick, but not sick enough to eat. She takes an experimental bite and chews. It tasted rather good, so much so that she takes another bite without thinking about any further hesitation as her hunger takes over. She sits on the cot in her cell and eats while staring at the two adults.

As she eats, Rumpel sits down in a nearby chair that is a few inches from the holding cell. He knows the next little while is going to be confusing for all of them. After responding to a few text messages from his wife and daughter, asking him where he is and if he's coming to the park to help sort the alternate children to their prospective parents, he waits for the sea goddess to return to a humanoid form, which takes a bit of prompting on his part.

"There is no way you are going to be able to run from this now. You know the truth, you can't deny it, the best you can do is understand it. Besides, no one comes to Storybrooke without experiencing a few crises and leaving with some take-out from Granny's."

A/N: Ain't that the truth. Special thanks to all my readers and followers