Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon A Time or any of the characters and storylines in the show. This is just a fanwork made for fun.
This story is a gift to my dear friend and beta Ethereal_Wishes. Here is my thank you for all the help you've been given me these last few months, I really hope you like this fic.
I'm really excited with this new work, as I already have a great part of it planned and can't wait to write the rest. So, Ethereal_Wishes prompted: Mirrors, magic, isolation in a tower, arranged marriage.
Warning: This fic has lots of angst and child's death included, so if you feel uncomfortable with any of this, please don't read.
In all the realms, girls expect anxiously the day of their wedding. They made plans, daydreamed about the ceremony, wondered about the marital life and talked over and over again about their gowns and jewels. Most girls were happy when they got married, even some of the ones that had an arranged match, but inside the giant castle at the centre of Avonlea, was the saddest bride anyone has ever seen.
Belle, the king's only daughter, had been promised to a man, that wasn't exactly a man, but a monster. Everybody talked about, about how cruel, how nefarious and how mean he was which only got her to fear her wedding day more than anything else. The young girl had been dealt to the Dark One when she was sixteen, some months after her mother passed and the war against the ogres had almost destructed their kingdom. Now, three years later, he had appeared in the castle, claiming for his debt to be paid.
She knew that somehow, he had been kind enough to let her grown fully into a woman before taking her, but even so, Belle was terrified of what life with him might be like. Only once, she had seen him, in the occasion her father made that deal with the monster, that said that he could easily send the ogres away if the king promised his daughter's hand in marriage for him, and without other option, the deal was sealed. At that time, Belle was a young girl, with prominent pinkish cheeks and bright blue eyes, while the Dark One was a scaled skinny creature with reptilian eyes and a unique green-gold skin.
When he came to the castle a second time, two weeks ago, she hadn't had the opportunity to see him, all she knew was that he was coming back that night for the ceremony before she had to leave permanently to his home, a place he called the Dark Castle. Honestly, after hearing the things her maids had been muttering around ever since the preparations for the wedding started, Belle expected to be rudely ravished each and every night from now on, maybe even tortured for his fun, if he was the sadist, people seemed to think that he was.
Rumplestiltskin, was his name and she had no idea of what were his plans for her. Belle let the maids tighten her bodice until she could barely breath, she didn't question when they pulled her on a golden gown, when all the brides wore white. Her life was now in the hands of the man people called beast and he would have full control over everything he wished about her.
For someone who always dreamed of heroics, of having adventures like the ones she read about in the books, Belle felt like a little bird about to be locked in a cage and she cried for her lost freedom one last time before pulling on a cold mask that hid her feelings, telling herself that she was doing her sacrifice for the people she loved and that was already something great, because most woman never got to do anything like that.
She held up her chin as the maids lead her to the great hall where the ceremony would happen a new motto forming in her head. Do the brave thing and bravery will follow.
There was something in the king's daughter that attracted Rumplestiltskin to her right from the first moment he saw her. Maybe it was something about how her curiosity was clearly in the glow of her eyes, or how she clutched the book she was holding against her chest, like it was something immensely precious. He didn't know for sure, but he knew by the moment her father begged for help that she would be his price. In that occasion, she was way too young to be the wife he intended to have and as much as people thought otherwise, the Dark One wasn't cruel enough to steal such a young girl from her family that way, so he gave her a few years and a gift.
Before leaving Avonlea for the first time, he made a beautiful mirror appear and told her to look at it every single day, so she could see the beauty the other admired in her, but in fact he had gifted her with that object because it was enchanted and liked to a mirror he kept in his own chambers, so every time she looked at it, he saw her. And for three long years, the Dark One longed to make the princess his wife, however, now that he was there, wearing a beautiful blue and gold outfit, he started to reconsider his decision like he never did in his deals.
He still wanted her with all his being, that hadn't changed, but yet, when he thought about her innocent gaze in the mirror, he remembered that she was just a girl, very pure and lovely, not matter how many time had passed. But as insecure as he was now feeling, Rumplestiltskin never stepped back in a deal and it wasn't now that he was going to do this, so he waited patiently with all the other guests of the wedding as she walked down the aisle, the most gorgeous creature he had ever set eyes on, wearing his favourite colour as her father brought her to him with a guilty expression on his face.
The imp took her soft hand in his and noticing how frightened Belle seemed to be, how haunted her expression was, despite the fact that she was clearly trying to look as calm and obedient as possible. that made him feel like a true monster for the first time in a really long time and he had done worst things than making a young lass marry him before. Breathing in deeply, he led his beautiful bride to the altar, where a priest her father had summoned has waiting to wed them.
He said all the things he should, even though it appeared that it was costing a lot to the bald man to celebrate that wedding. Of course, no sane man would want a beautiful innocent girl to be married to a monster, but Rumplestiltskin was powerful, people feared him, so nobody would ever dare to defy him.
When it was time, he turned around to face his bride, taking both of her shaking hands on his own and looking right at her big blue eyes that were widened and glistening with unshed tears. The Dark One watched when her throat made a slight movement, showing that she was swallowing her fears, the guilty of this moment consuming him more and more at each sign of fear that he caught in the princess.
It wasn't right, he decided, to do this to her. Certainly, he wouldn't step back now, but wasn't going to force her to keep going with this after they went home. But let everybody thinks that everything was fine, he held up his chin and made his vows.
"From now on and to the whole eternity beyond, I belong to you, just like you belong to me," Rumplestiltskin recited. "I take you, Belle of Avonlea as my wife, the other half of my soul and my heart, until my days are over."
He took the wedding ring he had brought for her, a stunning white gold piece full of big diamonds and slid it to her finger, bringing her hand up so he could kiss her knuckles gently, before he looked back at her blushing face and heard the shaken words coming from her mouth.
"From now on and the whole eternity beyond," she repeated, her voice low and uncertain, "I belong to you, just like you belong to me. I take you Rumplestiltskin, Dark One, as my husband, the other half of my soul and my heart, until my days are over."
She put the moonstone ring she got for in on the imp's finger and he realised how everything sounded cold and pointless when he couldn't even meet his after kissing his hand like he did hers. The priest stepped forward, lifting both his hands as if presenting them to the silent, morbid crowd.
"You are vowed for eternity and nothing can separate one from the other," the bald man said. "I declare you officially, husband and wife."
There were a lot of clapping, although he knew that nobody was really celebrating the princess horrible fate, just doing what they knew that they should. Rumplestiltskin pulled on a smug smile and held Belle closer while they walked away from the great hall, but he didn't give himself the pleasure of tasting his bride's lips for the first time, like it was usual. No, he could want her more than anything else, but he would never allow himself to touch her. He had already been beastly enough to take away her freedom, now he would guarantee that her innocence remained intact.
Despite of the vows, they didn't talk at all. Belle realised that this was probably how things were going to be from now on, no talk, just endless moments where she was forced to play the part of the good wife and pray to not be killed, while Rumplestiltskin enjoyed her suffering with that daring little smirk of his. She said her goodbyes to her father and friends, assuring them that she would be alright, even though Belle didn't believe it at all, then she went to where the chest with her things had been placed and waited for her husband to come along, expecting him to call for his servants and drag her to his carriage, but instead, he walked slowly towards her and waved a hand.
All she knew was that in the next second she had appeared inside some huge chambers, the chest now laying in front of a big bed. Belle tried to steady her breath, that was now coming in pants due to her nervous state, because she knew what was supposed to come next: the consummation. She dropped her eyes to the wooden floor, not wanting to meet her husband's gaze when he stepped into her direction to brush his weird textured hand on her neck, causing a shiver to pass through her body.
His touch, however, was way more gentle and full of care than she could have ever imagined that it would be and she hoped that he continued to be so soft until it was all over and he had gotten what he wanted from her, but, to her surprise, Rumplestiltskin let his hand fall down to his side again and just kept staring at her. Curious, Belle lifted her eyes, looking at him with narrowed brows without understand why he was just standing there without doing anything and he seemed to notice that he was making a fool of himself.
"I hope you have a great night," the imp managed to mumble, turning his back to her and making his way to one of the three doors on the room.
"Wait!" Belle called. "Where are you going?"
Her heart was beating fast and she was extremely frightened over what he might do to her inside those chambers, but she did not understand why he would choose to leave, or if it was all a part of his dark plans for her, but she needed to know.
"I have work to do," he explained. "You're not allowed to leave this tower or this room. The door will remain locked, but you'll have everything you need on your reach."
Belle opened her mouth, but for a long moment nothing came, however when she had overcome the shock, she made him a question: "So, you didn't bring me here to be your wife, but your prisoner?"
He sighed, eyes wandering around the room, avoiding to fix on her, because he wanted to do the right thing for once in his life and she didn't seem to get it.
"Aye," Rumplestiltskin answered in his most impish tone. "I brought you here to lock you for the rest of your life, or do you think that somebody like me would choose such a common lass to carry my offspring? No, I would never lay with you, but the deal I made with your father needed a price, one that costed him everything he most loved and it was you."
Fresh new tears filled Belle's eyes and this time she couldn't help but to let some of them slid down her face. She would never be free again and out of what she expected, she didn't have a husband but a captor that cared nothing about her and who she would probably never see again after that night.
Earlier she had been fearing what it meant to be the Dark One's wife, now she had to face the fact that she was no one anymore and locked in that tower, she would soon be forgotten by everyone. Belle would die without putting a foot outside or seeing the sun in the fully open sky, instead of the small frames of the windows of that room and she bet, that if she looked outside, she would realise that she was on the top of the tower, which made trying to escape completely impossible. She was lost, totally and utterly lost.
"You just wanted to make my father suffer, didn't you?" She asked, sniffling.
"Yeah. I'd like to think that he will spend the rest of his days blaming himself for let an old monster take you."
The princess bit down her lip, waving her head at his words. This was the kind of nightmare from which she apparently couldn't escape and she just wished that Rumplestiltskin had never appeared to safe Avonlea when the kingdom was falling. Maybe they could have found another solution to end the war that didn't evolve her being held captive by the man that vowed to be hers for the rest of the eternity in front of every single person that loved her.
"Oh, you really are a beast."
"That I am, dearie, that I am," he chuckled, trying not to show her any emotion and started to walk back to the door. "Enjoy your stay. It will last as long as your heart beats."
Rumplestiltskin went out of the room, letting the door shut open behind him and Belle ran to it, grabbing the knob with some blind hope that he might not have meant anything he said and it was really open, but of course, it wasn't. She bashing her fists against the door with rage grunting furiously before she let herself fall to the floor, where she stayed for a long time, crying for all the things she lost.
Belle had no idea how many time had passed when she finally looked up, brushing her curls away from her face and sitting on her heels. The girl looked around, trying to familiarize herself with the room that would be her home for the rest of her days. The bed seemed comfortable and had lots of pillows nestled above it, a desk was placed by the right wall beside a big dresser, on the left one was a fireplace in front of which were two red armchairs and near Belle, was the doors. She stood up, peeking a look inside of the two that weren't locked and finding a bathroom and a closet that was filled with gowns.
"Yeah, at least he wasn't lying about providing everything I needed," she muttered to herself, passing her fingers through the fabric of the dresses and finding a nightgown she really liked.
Picking it, Belle took the piece of clothing to the bed put it aside as she started to strip all the layers of her dress, discarding everything and pulling on the nightgown. She walked to the chest she had brought and sat in front of it, opening the lid and starting to take the things out. There were some books that she placed on the desk, but one specifically, she pulled on the bed, where she could read before being dragged to unconsciousness, hoping that maybe there she could have some remarkable adventure, that would never happen in real life. Carefully Belle placed all of her gowns on the closet, near to the new ones, before facing the last item inside the chest and picking it.
She climbed up the bed, sliding inside the covers with her favourite book on her lap and the mirror Rumplestiltskin had gifted her with when they first met.
During three years she had stared at it, believing that the fact that her future husband admired her beauty enough to give her something like this with the meaning he had implied meant that he cared for her, even if so slightly, but on that night, it only served to remember her of how beastly and manipulative he was. She saw her getting wide as she looked at the mirror, the insistent tears coming back to fill her eyes as a sob erupted from her throat. That was when one tear fell down to it, splashing on the surface of the mirror and making a golden glow take it.
Belle gasped, surprised and touched her reflex in the mirror, watching it become blurry until her image was no longer there, but was now replaced by the image of a room she had never seen. It was probably larger than hers, but also decorated in black and red, very beautiful, but very dark and when she saw the man walking to the windows with a glass on his hands.
Rumplestiltskin drank slowly, looking to the gardens outside the castle and he seemed to be incredibly calm, until she realised that his shoulders were shaking. The Dark One was in fact crying and now she had something that allowed herself to see him and discover things like that, that made him human, because as she watched him sob, Belle decided that there definitely was a man behind this beast and she was determined to find it.
Ending notes: This fic is a gift for my beta, which means no beta here. So, my apologies if there is something wrong with my writing. English is not my first language. Plus, we are going to have daily updates for this one!
Thank you all for reading!