Author Notes: This is my first attempt at an Alternate Universe fic, so I hope you enjoy it. It's sort of my reinterpretation of "Skin Deep" with a few key changes. I hope you enjoy and please to review.
Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time. It belongs to ABC, as well as Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz.
Chapter One
The Deal is Struck
Belle stood alone in her bedroom. She could hear the sounds of battle in the distance growing closer. The screams of dying men and the triumphant roars of the approaching ogres. Her people were being slaughtered, and she knew her father couldn't win this war. There was only one option left to her.
She'd heard stories of a man, though occasionally he was referred to as a demon or an imp; his specific form changed every time the story was told, but the general meaning was the same. There was, somewhere in the world, a being who would grant a person their deepest desires as long as they were willing to pay a price.
Belle was willing to do anything, sacrifice anything if it meant the people she cared about would survive. That was what truly mattered.
She looked out her window at the far off blazes of the war, and the blood-soaked ground. She could not sit idly by while the her subjects died.
"You are brave," she whispered to herself, "You can be brave, and you can end their suffering."
She took a deep breath before she spoke, her voice growing louder as she gain courage.
"Rumpelstiltskin," Belle said, calling the legend's name, "I wish to make a deal with the Dark One."
"You sure about that, dearie?"
Belle whirled around, her yellow ball gown gliding past her feet. In the center of her room stood a man dressed in black and red leather.
From a distance, he could have passed for a normal man, but up close, as he was now, he looked … different. An air of mystery, magic, and mischief clung to him like a low hanging fog. His skin was a strange gray-green and his fingernails were stained perpetually black. When Belle took a step toward him, she saw that his eyes were a mixture of ebony and gold.
Despite or perhaps because of all these factors, Belle was more surprised and intrigued than afraid.
"Are you the Dark One?" she asked, trying to retain her composure.
"Indeed I am," he smiled widely. With a flourish of his arm, he gave her a low bow; and rolling the first letter of the name, he said, "Rumpelstiltskin, at your service. And who might you be?"
She held her head high with all the pride and grace of a lioness, and answered, "I am the princess of this kingdom. My name is Belle."
"Lovely name," he replied taking a step forward, "Sounds warm and inviting. And delicate, like a flower. The perfect name … for a princess."
He spat out the last word as though it were distasteful.
"It means 'beauty'," she replied, using the response that had become routine whenever people needlessly complimented her on her name.
"You'd be surprised how many beautiful young women have ugly name foretelling ugly futures," he said quietly.
Belle's curiosity was of course peaked, as it always was when someone said something to deliberately leave her in the dark. But she didn't bother to ask what he was implying. There were much more important things to worry about.
"Can you give me what I want?" she asked.
"No time for pleasantries during war?" he teased.
"No, there isn't," she answered seriously before repeating her question slowly, "Can you give me what I want?"
"That depends on what you're asking for. And how much you're willing to pay."
"I want you to save my people from the Ogre Wars. Can you do that?"
"Of course, but what will I get in return for my services?"
"Anything you want," she replied with a slight smile, "We have a substantial amount of gold if that's what you're after."
"Well, you see, I make gold. So, no, I'm not all that interested."
"Then what do you want?"
Rumpelstiltskin looked around the elegant bedroom for a moment, contemplating her question and observing what treasures and possessions she had lying about. Then a wide smile spread slowly across his face. With a flourish of his hand, he pointed directly at Belle.
"My price is you," he said.
"Excuse me?" she responded, raising her eyebrows, "You do realize I'm engaged?"
"No actually. Until now, I was unaware of that. But it makes no difference. I'm not looking for love," he replied, sounding mildly disgusted with the word, "I am in need of a caretaker for my rather large estate."
"If I agree to come with you, the war ends?" she asked, trying to make sure she understood.
"Indeed."
"My family? My friends? They will all be protected?"
"They will be as safe as they were before the war. Do we have a deal?"
As he asked this final question, there was a puff of purple smoke, and then he held a long scroll in his hand as well as an ink-laden feather quill. He offered the pen to her, prompting her to seal their deal. She took it in her hand, and leaned forward to sign when an idea struck her.
"I want you to teach me magic," Belle said suddenly.
She'd always been fascinated by the mystic arts. The idea that anything was possible, and that magical things could happen was quite comforting to a girl who was forced to remain on the castle grounds at all times. Ever since she was younger she'd wanted to see the world, and experience the magic that she'd only ever read about in her books. Over the years she'd learned how to sneak out of the castle without being caught and make her way into town. That's how she'd learned of Rumpelstiltskin, the solution to her kingdom's problem.
Now, it was time for something more, something new. Now it was time to stop reading about magic and adventure, and make some of her own, instead. She wanted to experience it for herself. She wanted to learn.
"What?" Rumpelstiltskin asked, looking at her with a quizzically frown.
"I'll go with you. I'll clean. I'll cook. I'll do whatever tasks you tell me to. But in exchange, you end the war and teach me magic."
"But what's in it for me, dearie?" he replied.
"Magic would make cleaning easier. I'd get more done in less time. Your estate would be cleaner than you've ever seen it. It's in your own best interest. And besides, what's wrong with having an apprentice? Someone to carry on the Dark One's legacy."
Rumpelstiltskin's face darkened for a moment, and Belle was convinced she'd gone to far. To him, she must have seemed like nothing more than a weak little girl asking to learn a few parlor tricks on a whim. Why would he feel any inclination to teach her his skills?
But then he smiled, "Fine. You'll be my apprentice and clean my home."
"And you'll end the war."
"And I will end the war," he confirmed.
"Add it to our deal," she prompted.
"I like your business sense," he replied. With a snap of his fingers another line of calligraphy appeared at the bottom of the contract.
"And yours," Belle said, as she leaned forward again to sign the parchment.
"You'll never be able to leave, dearie," Rumpelstiltskin said, causing her to pause before she signed.
"Protect my people, teach me magic, and I will I go with you … forever," she promised
"Your father won't be happy about this," he continued, "I'm not sure I should be making such a deal with a young lady like yourself. Perhaps I should discuss this with your father, the king?" he said with mock uncertainty.
"No one decides my fate but me," and with that she made a deal with a demon and signed her life away to a dark-hearted spinner.
"Then take my arm," he said, the parchment disappearing from his hand in another puff of smoke.
"Can I leave a note?" Belle asked, "For my father? I'm not backing out of the deal. I just want him to know that I'm safe," she paused, realizing that safe probably wasn't the best adjective for her current situation.
"Or at least," she amended herself, "that I'm alive."
Rumpelstiltskin snapped his fingers in the direction of Belle's ornate bed and answered, "Already done."
She turned, and lying in the center of one of her pillows was a folded and sealed envelope with the words Regarding the Princess scrawled across it.
"It will tell him that you made a deal with me to save your people. It will tell him where you are, but not how to find you. Is that sufficient?"
Belle didn't trust her tongue when she was this nervous, so gave him a slight nod of agreement. She took a few steps forward and stood next to him. He placed one arm around her waist. For a moment, she was still in her own bedroom, the world of the familiar. But then she was surrounded by violet fog, and she knew she was plunging head first into the unknown.
Author Notes: So, what did you think? Don't forget to tell me in a review. This will be a multi-chapter fic, so be on the lookout for the next installment.