[OPEN] strike for love and strike for fear. there's beauty and there's danger here.

[undealt]

Who: The Ice King Gold and YOU.
Where: Narnia.
When: The... whole... event.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Gold eats the fruit Turkish Delight. The end result is he basically wants to stay in Narnia forever. He lives here now. COME VISIT HIM. Or try to drag him home. REGINA HAS DIBS ON GETTING HIM HOME ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, as per prior plotting.
The Story:

The first time Gold realizes there's a frozen forest beyond this bloody new wardrobe, he's content to simply turn around and walk back out into his room again, refusing to engage in this nonsense. The second time, he lingers long enough to take in the area, frowning as it calls to mind Ingrid's makeshift ice palace in the middle of Storybrooke's woods, which brings back poor memories, and he abandons it again.

By the third time, he's had his fill of Wonderland's shenanigans- this most recent event, and he finds the frozen hell in his damned closet to be a peaceful alternative and despite knowing the dangers of eating food in strange places, the temptation is far too great, and he's just been far too good about resisting temptation, hasn't he? It's exhausting, when all he really wants is his power back, so he can actively challenge this hellish Wonderland he's trapped in.

When the sweet melts on his tongue, he feels the sudden realization that perhaps he doesn't need to challenge Wonderland- or even escape from it. He's already found his escape. Yes, it's so simple, isn't it?

~*~

Three days later, Gold's missing, but his door is unlocked and his closet is thrown wide open, casting a chill in his room, beckoning anyone to come and find him if they so dare. The path beyond the lightpost leads to a makeshift castle made entirely of ice. It's not Gold's personal aesthetic, but he's managed to make do, even if it does feel a little like he's performing some homage to Ingrid and Elsa, which simply won't do.

Hence why the ice palace seems to have a blackened, corrupted hue, like ice made out of brackish water, a testament to the Dark One he once was, the Dark One somewhere deep down he still wants to be.
The Dark One that he can be if he stays here.

Even the purest hearted hero in the world can give into temptation, especially one as old and set in his ways as Rumplestiltskin, but it's fine. It's not as if anyone is going to take this away from him. Not this time.

Comments

12/16

[a_chipped_cup]

It struck Belle as odd that there was such a large draft coming from one of the rooms in the hall. She'd felt it a few times, as she walked past the door, but had brushed it off as a lingering cold from her trek to the mansion. But as her first day passed, that unmistakable chill hadn't gone.

She wasn't one to snoop normally, but her curiosity was peaked. There was something in there that was making the hall feel like that Winter had come indoors as well.

Much to her surprise, the door wasn't locked. No one was inside, only a wardrobe that was wide open, the frost coming from within. Braving the cold, Belle stepped in, pushing past the various trees until she spied a lamp post ahead.

This is so familiar.

"Hello?" She called out, unsure who could have done this. More magic Wonderland had to offer? She was starting to get her fill and she only just arrived.

[madehervows]

It shouldn't surprise anybody that the person the compulsion sends her after is Rumplestiltskin. They've always been drawn together, predator and predator circling each other until they see the perfect opening. This is how their friendship works, honestly.

Anger floods her veins as she thinks about everything he did to her, about everything he manipulated and caused and how it always, always comes down to them. Storybrooke will be in ashes, their friends and family dead around them and it will because of him. Well, not if she has anything to say about it. And she has plenty to say to him, after all, she's been avoiding him every since he returned.

The chill of his winter wonderland goes unnoticed as she steps through the closet door, grim determination on her face. There's a familiar current in the air, not the magic of Wonderland or this wintery addition, no, the darkness calls to her, shows her the way to Rumplestiltskin's Ice Palace. She regards the construction with disdain, contemplates letting him know she's there by melting the entire thing around him.

But no, as satisfying as it would be to destroy everything he's built here, that's not why she's here.

The doors slam open, a twisted mirror of Snow White and Prince Charming's wedding day. "Rumplestiltskin," Regina starts, marching forward into the freezing cold. "Rumplestiltskin," she continues, the hatred in her voice as clear as it's ever been, "Rumplestiltskin."

It won't work anymore, he's not the Dark One, but, well, they've always been sticklers for tradition.