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“Madame mayor swallowed it hook, line and sinker,” Cruella announced without a care about Ursula's glare. “Now we just have to wait until they're done with their little demon problem, and Storybrooke is ours.”
“Great,” Ursula replied. “Well, you'll have to excuse me but my bladder is too impatient.”
She quickly walked to the woods, ignoring the imp's rolling eyes. Cruella, on the other hand, wasn't so disdainful. She hesitated for one moment, then followed the sea witch.
“Don't touch my car, Rumple. Even little hands like yours leave stains.”
Rumplestiltskin sighed loudly. Hopefully, he won't have to put up with these bitches for much longer. And hopefully again, they won't realize how much he truly hates them until they come back for him at night. Then it hits him. The car. They'll drive it into Storybrooke.
“I'll leave you two to your lovely business and go find a place to hide where no one peed.”
Without turning around, Cruella waved a hand in his general direction. He was surprised not to see a raised middle finger. Anyway, he waited until the women were out of sight and opened the trunk of the car, eyeing it carefully. To hell with his pride! He lost it the moment he stepped across the town line and turned back into his pitiful old self.
The trunk wasn't particularly small, but for the first time in his life, Rumplestiltskin was glad to be a short man. As quickly as he could with his bad leg, he climbed into the trunk and squeezed himself in the narrow place. There was little space to breath and his bad ankle hurt like hell, but he still fit between the couple of fur coats Cruella managed to save and the small bag containing a few of Ursula's clothes along with her most beloved fishes. After one last deep breath, he slammed the trunk shut.
A handful of minutes later, the so-called Queens of Darkness came back with Cruella cursing the muddy ground for ruining her shoes. Though he couldn't see nor hear Ursula, he was pretty sure she rolled her eyes in exasperation. One of them leaned on the car, shaking his hideout and giving him a frightening glimpse of the drive to come. He shut his eyes and tried counting to ten while taking deep breaths, but only the thought of coming back home was making this situation a wee bit better.
Belle. He had to it for Belle. To see her. To hear her. To beg for her forgiveness. He knew he would have to work hard to get his happy ending, he was no fool. Yet he could not imagine spending the rest of his life without her. The few previous weeks had been hell and he had no intention of going back to it. He would make Belle see how much he loved her. She will see she is his whole world.
Car doors opened and closed. The engine roared to life. The car started to move. Rumplestiltskin whispered his wife's name over and over like an enchantment. If they crossed the town line without noticing he was in, he would not have to worry about that flimsy part of his plan in which he had to rely on others. He was the Dark One. He didn't rely on anyone. Anyone but his former maid, current wife, and future happy ending.
The second he crossed the town line, his whole body shivered in delight at being touched my magic again. His ankle immediately healed. Power flowed through his veins. He was someone again. Someone trapped into the trunk of a crazy woman who couldn't drive straight to save her life, but still someone. They'll see what the Dark One had in store for them.
Magic made the journey as painless as possible, but there still was the question of whether or not he could get out of the trunk without being seen. Every citizen knew his face. If one of those silly bastards saw him, his grand scheme would get as crushed as the pedestrian Cruella was sure to run over soon. After some insufferably long minutes, the car came to a stop. Car doors opened and closed. Rumplestiltskin was tempted to use magic to make a small part of the car invisible so he could see through it, but he would not risk his happy ending just because he couldn't breath properly.
He was in the middle of rehearsing his plan, distracted by trying to guess the identity of the passers-by who stopped to point and gawk at the car he was stranded in, when the trunk opened. Rumplestiltskin's face distorted with horror as he saw Ursula and Cruella with expressions similar to his own. The sea witch let out a small shriek and slammed the trunk close, hitting Rumplestiltskin on the head, making him curse. The shock passed in a dead silence. Then Cruella burst out laughing with her signature manic laugh. She doubled over to hold her hurting ribs and fell on the trunk. Then she unnecessarily punched it over and over. Ursula soon joined in with her deep own laugh. As for Rumplestiltskin, he mourned what could have been a grand entrance into town before he decided to take the safe way into the trunk.
Rumplestiltskin didn't consider himself a naive man, but he sure felt like one when he realized those bitches weren’t going to a secluded place to free him as he expected. He would kill them. As soon as he was out of this blasted trunk, he would kill them in the most atrocious way. Maybe he would even throw them both in his place and drive recklessly around town for the rest of the day as they did before he throttles them with his bare hands.
Just when he thought they had decided to stop when they get short on gas, the sound of the slamming car doors warned him of their approach. Cruella opened the trunk with a wide pleased grin she shared with Ursula. If glares could kill, as Rumplestiltskin dearly wished for, the bloody Queens of Darkness would be deader than dead.
“My my, what a stowaway you make, Rumple. I've put luggage bigger than you in that trunk.”
In an attempt to regain some of his stomped on dignity, Rumplestiltskin unfolded himself, jumped out of the trunk and brushed his suit. With a breath of magic, it went back the pristine way it was before his eviction from town. It was dark and the woods were damp, but he welcomed the fresh air like a blessing.
“With the way you drive, you should be thankful I didn't throw up on your coats.”
A sudden terror flashed in her eyes and she shoved him out of the way to check on her precious coats.
“If I find the slightest stain on them, I swear I'll turn your crocodile skin into a handbag and a pair of shoes and give them to your maid!”
The mention of Belle stopped him from rolling his eyes at her, but his resentment was as real and as deep. No one made fun of the Dark One. Once they've served their purpose, he'll show them. For now, all he could think about was Belle. How close she was. Nothing else mattered. Not even a long humiliating ride in a narrow trunk.