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Post by Sally Fitch/Clever Else on Jan 27, 2013 20:43:09 GMT -5
Else looked at her husband's face in shock. Who would wish such a thing upon someone as innocent and harmless as Hans?
"Why??" She shot at the imp. "He's never done ill towards ANYONE in his entire LIFE..." Else defended. "...He wouldn't know HOW to!"
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Post by Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold on Jan 27, 2013 20:44:29 GMT -5
"Why?" he repeated, "Because, dearie, there is evil in the world. This is an old curse. I suspect that your dear Hans was not the intended target. He probably just found something buried in the earth."
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Post by Simple Hans/Fletcher Fitch on Jan 27, 2013 20:47:21 GMT -5
Hans could hear Else's voice raising. She sounded upset... he hated when she was upset.
He suddenly experienced a violent spasm to his chest. He cried out, his throat feeling like it was tearing in two, and his breathing was no longer steady, but irregular. Hans labored to keep his air passage open, but everything felt like it was swelling shut.
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Post by Sally Fitch/Clever Else on Jan 27, 2013 20:49:30 GMT -5
Else squeezed Hans' hand in panic as he cried out and arched. Her eyes were getting wet again. "What do we do? " She begged.
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Post by Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold on Jan 27, 2013 20:50:14 GMT -5
"Well, all dark curses can be broken by True Love's Kiss," he said, "It's pretty standard."
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Post by Sally Fitch/Clever Else on Jan 27, 2013 21:01:48 GMT -5
"A kiss?" Else choked. She wiped away a traitorous tear and looked at Hans' lips. She bit her own. "A kiss is all it would take? And then he's cured?"
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Post by Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold on Jan 27, 2013 21:03:58 GMT -5
"It must be True Love's Kiss," he reminded her, "an ordinary kiss... well... it would be fatal."
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Post by Sally Fitch/Clever Else on Jan 27, 2013 21:17:18 GMT -5
Else sat... stunned.
She cared for Hans, she had no doubt in her mind of that... but LOVE?
Until now, she had never considered it a possibility.
Else surfaced from her thoughts... because she could no longer hear labored breathing. she couldn't hear breathing of ANY SORT. She pressed an ear to her dear husband's chest: Nothing.
She looked up at the imp, horror and panic on her face.
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Post by Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold on Jan 27, 2013 21:18:48 GMT -5
A heart beat. Faint. But still there.
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Post by Sally Fitch/Clever Else on Jan 27, 2013 21:32:27 GMT -5
She was devastated; the life had seemed to completely be gone from Hans' weak form... but Rumpelstiltskin held an expression that conveyed that all was not lost. Not yet anyways. Either that or he truly was the sick bastard that the Queen had always thought him to be.
Else turned to Hans, placing two shaking hands on either side of his angular face. She brought her face down close to his, feeling as though she were hovering above a corpse... but she had to banish that thought away. She had to focus... on true love. This had to be a kiss of TRUE LOVE to bring him back.
She tried to think of his smile, first thing in the morning, when he would never fail to tell her how beautiful she looked. She thought of how he looked when he tended the fields in their land, strong, vibrant... and handsome. And she even thought of all the strange noises he managed to make when he ate an apple...
But it wasn't helping...
She sighed sadly... knowing that she would give anything to switch places with the innocent man, to spare him this fate, if the love that she felt for him wasn't enough to save him.
Else let every thought slide and pressed her full lips to his.
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Post by Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold on Jan 27, 2013 21:37:44 GMT -5
Rumpelstiltskin stepped back, making a discrete gesture under his cloak.
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Post by Sally Fitch/Clever Else on Jan 27, 2013 21:44:22 GMT -5
Else's lips parted from Hans'. She had almost felt something... like a wave of energy pass through her and into the room...
...but when she realized her failure, her face crumpled. She let her head fall to her dear husband's cold neck, openly weeping.
The peasant-born girl had always known that she rarely let anyone into her heart aside from her sisters. But if she had been capable of saving anyone with love... it would have been simple, sweet Hans.
"I'm so sorry, love..." she choked.
The physician and advisers bowed their heads and filed out of the room.
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Post by Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold on Jan 27, 2013 21:47:05 GMT -5
"Well, it was worth a try." Rumpelstiltskin vanished in a cloud of smoke.
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Post by Sally Fitch/Clever Else on Jan 27, 2013 21:51:56 GMT -5
The Queen wept over her fallen King. And when at last her eyes were swollen and dry, Else curled up by his side, resting her head on his broad, still chest.
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Post by Sally Fitch/Clever Else on Jan 27, 2013 22:00:02 GMT -5
Else's sore eyes opened to the morning light coming in through the window overlooking the bed. Her mind reflexively started thinking about all the things she needed to attend to...
But then she remembered the nightmare of last night. Her neck ached from resting on the King's chest, but she curled in tighter towards his from. She sighed slowly, deeply, and yet new tears managed to spill out. It almost seemed impossible.
As she wiped a tear away that had escaped to her nose, a large, warm hand rested on top of her head. It felt comforting... until Else's eyes widened with shock and she shot up, glancing at the owner of that sweet hand...
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