It wasn't every day that the Dark One was invited to a masquerade ball. Then again, it wasn't every day that the Queen decided to throw a masquerade ball, either. Oh, he could refuse, of course. Regina would be furious, and she would try to "punish" him, but how could she do anything to him? He was the Dark One; his power was far greater than that of the Queen's.
Alternatively, he could always go, too. Whether he admitted it or not, fancy dress parties could actually be ... entertaining.
Of course, there was Belle to think about, this time. She would probably enjoy getting out of the Dark Castle for a change. And he was beginning to care more and more about what she would enjoy. Which was the thought that ultimately decided him.
Striding back into the Castle's Great Hall where the girl was currently dusting, Rumple announced, "We're going to a masquerade ball."
Belle turned to face the Castle's master, a small, incredulous smile on her lips. "You're joking," she said, returning to her dusting, "Why would anyone invite me to a ball?"
"She didn't, dearie, but as I don't trust you alone in the the castle, you're going to be attending with me," he said, taking a seat in his chair by the table. Rumple watched her, wondering how she would react to his statement.
The girl stopped dusting for a moment, turning to face the Master of the Castle. "After all this time, you still don't trust me?" she asked, hurt evident in her clear blue eyes.
Rumple leaned forward slightly in his chair, both intrigued and slightly mystified by his own feelings about her reaction. "Or perhaps I knew it would be something you would like to attend," he offered, leaning back again. "Were I alone, I would not be attending at all."
It was clear from Belle's expression that his words surprised her. "You're attending a ball ... for me?" she cocked her head at him, a slow smile spreading across her features. "I'm not sure I'll ever understand you, Rumpelstiltskin," she laughed.
He stood quickly and bowed. "That's me, my dear; I'm more complicated than you think," he smirked as he returned to a standing position.
"You may try to pretend you don't care, Rumple, but you've got a big heart," Belle insisted, stepping towards the man who so intrigued her.
He raised an eyebrow at her assertion. "You've been cooped up in my Castle for too long, if that's what you think," he said, one of his signature giggles accompanying the statement. For some reason, he did care about this girl. She was ... interesting, and he wasn't exactly sure about his feelings for her, but her opinion mattered to him.
As far as Rumple was concerned, he would not be attending the ball in a mask. He would very likely be the only one (as Regina was the host, masks were likely required), but as long as Belle was content, so would he be. Besides, it was yet another opportunity to show Regina that she could not control him, try as she might.
"Now, let's figure out an outfit and mask for you, shall we?" he suggested, turning on his heel and striding out of the Great Hall, bound for the room in which he kept such frivolity.
He always had a variety of different outfits and disguises on hand at any given time; one never knew when one would need such things. If none of them suited Belle (which was entirely possible), he could easily conjure something. But conjuring clothing for others was so boring; not to mention that he had to consider what they thought, too.
Throwing the doors of the room open, he strode over to the wardrobe, pulling outfits out of it, some that might be suitable, others that were decidedly not.
He looked her over, smirking. "Somehow, I doubt you want to attend the ball clothed as the Dark One, no matter how fantastically I may dress."
Belle laughed at that, shaking her head. "Your clothes wouldn't look the same on me anyway," she commented, amused. She was excited about the prospect of going to a masquerade, but Rumple still hadn't said anything about their mysterious host, other than it was a "she."
"Perhaps not," he said with his signature giggle, "but something like this will do," he added, holding up a glorious, floor-length gown. "Well," he said, glancing at the gown again, "other than the color." It was a bright, sky blue. If dresses could talk, this one would have shouted "Look how bright I am!" It was no surprise to Belle when it was almost immediately rejected.
It soon became apparent that the Dark One preferred to dress his ... caretaker in dark reds and purples instead of sunny yellows, greens, or blues that she was so used to.
"Here, try this," he said, thrusting a rich purple fabric into her arms. The gown was so full that it took Belle a few moments to figure out where the bodice began and the skirt ended. It hadn't helped that Rumple had shoved it at her haphazardly, almost as though he was as excited as she was for her to try it on.
She went behind the screen in the room and Rumple stayed where he was. They both knew perfectly well that if he felt like being a peeping Tom (or, in this case, a peeping Rumpelstiltskin), he could "poof" to anywhere in the room, but he had more respect for her than that. And that made her happy. Belle changed into the dress behind the screen, expecting it to need some sort of alterations, but it fit her as though it had been made for her. Which it had been, actually, though she didn't know it.
Belle emerged from behind the screen, resplendent in the purple fabric. The one-shoulder gown was adorned and covered with beads so opaque and shimmery that it almost appeared as though it was covered in the gossamer of fairy's wings. With Rumpelstiltskin's history with fairies, it was entirely possible that there were fairy wings on the dress. Fairy wings and precious jewels, both items that were very hard to come by, and he had chosen to have them made into a dress for her.
"Yes, that'll do nicely," he said, looking her over. Goodness, he'd known she was an attractive woman, but seeing her in that dress...she literally took his breath away. And he didn't know how to deal with that. He'd brought her here to be his caretaker and instead, she was awakening all sorts of emotions he'd thought long since dead and buried. No, that wasn't true; he'd known perfectly well that he was capable of feeling, occasionally far too deeply, but he hadn't really wanted to until he'd brought Belle into his castle.
Shoving these thoughts to the back of his mind for later pondering, the Dark One pulled out a box of masks, determined now that Belle would be the best-dressed of the masquerade. Which meant that he had to find the perfect mask to go with that dress. It was said that clothes make the man, but Belle...she was the one who set off the dress, not the other way around. She was stunning, and everyone would know that she was his.
Where had that thought come from? She wasn't his; she didn't belong to him. Belle was a human being who knew her own mind, much better than many others, in fact, and she belonged to no one. And he wouldn't change that for anything in the world. That quality was one of the things that so intrigued him about her; he didn't want to possess her; he wanted to get to know her, to understand her.
And that never happened before.
He was getting distracted again. That happened far too easily when he was around Belle, these days. When he'd first brought her to the Dark Castle, he'd been in denial about the fact that he was lonely, really. But Belle had been able to see right through all of his airs and dramatics, to his very core, the part of him that continued to frantically search for Bae.
It was at that moment that he realized that he was still staring at the young woman who so perplexed him.
"What is it, Rumple?" she asked, hugging herself self-consciously. "I thought you said it looked all right...," she murmured, flushing slightly. It was a foreign feeling to her, wanting to look her best for someone other than herself.
Really, they were both a little out of their comfort zones and each was trying to hide that from the other.
"And now, to find a mask!" Rumpelstiltskin exclaimed, accompanying the announcement with his signature dramatic flare. Hmm, and they would have to figure out what to do with Belle's hair, too; it wouldn't take much to make her really shine, especially in that gown. Unless...yes, there was an idea. He wasn't going to be wearing a mask, so why should Belle? She was in the service of the Dark One and there under his protection. With the way she looked in that gown, it seemed almost criminal to hide her beauty away behind a mask.
"On second thought,"he said, putting the masks away, "there's no need for a mask. You set off the gown perfectly as it is."
Belle flushed at his compliment. There were times he truly confounded her; one minute, he'd appear almost ... vulnerable and the next, he'd retreat behind an impenetrable wall of magic and enigma.
"But won't the hostess expect masks?" she asked, trying to open the box he'd discarded.
"I will not be wearing one, my dear," came the response to her question, "and as we shall be dressed to match, that means no mask for you!" he proclaimed with a giggle. "Besides," he added, a bit of a smirk sliding onto his face, "it wouldn't do to hide the most beautiful belle at the ball away behind a mask, would it?"
That comment simply left Belle speechless. Had he said what she thought he'd said? It seemed the Dark One was more of a romantic than had originally been thought, after all.
"Go on, now," he waved her away, "out of that dress and back to your chores. The Castle isn't going to clean itself, you know," he quipped.
And just like that, the spell that had been settling over and between the two of them had shattered. But there was something of it that couldn't be lost, and that was how they had started to act around each other. There was something ... more than just a working relationship between them, but neither was exactly sure what it was.
The few days leading up to the masquerade were business as usual around the Dark Castle: Rumpelstiltskin worked with his magic or he spun and Belle went about her daily tasks.
The day of the ball itself, however, was anything but typical, especially for the Dark Castle. The Dark One had acquired a lady's maid to help Belle prepare.
"We're just borrowing her," he told Belle when he saw her expression upon seeing the other woman. "She's just here to make sure you have everything you need in terms of getting dressed, doing your hair, and those other fancy details," he smirked, adding, "I could have done all of that myself, but I thought you might appreciate another woman's opinion." Plus, he wanted to be surprised by Belle's radiance tonight something he wouldn't be able to do if he helped her get ready himself. Not to mention that he would probably end up making her uncomfortable; it was just better that he'd borrowed this lady's maid.
While the girl was helping Belle prepare for the masquerade, Rumpelstiltskin was mentally preparing himself for a clash with Regina. Oh, there was no doubt that he would get the better of her, but usually, he only had to deflect comments about himself. Tonight, though, he was going to have Belle with him, Belle, who was going to outshine Regina with her inner and outer beauty. For some reason, the idea of Regina mocking Belle or attempting to embarrass her quite bothered the Dark One. Which was why he was preparing for whatever Regina might throw his way.
It didn't take him nearly as long to prepare as the women were taking, which is what he'd suspected would happen in the first place.
After all, he didn't have to do anything special with his hair or fit into a corset; all he'd had to do was choose which of his outfits most matched Belle's.
And, speaking of Belle, there was the woman herself, absolutely radiant in the gown he'd chosen, her hair pulled half up in such a way that only part of it brushed her bare shoulders, enticing and inviting.
Rumpelstiltskin stared at his caretaker, at a complete loss for words. She really was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.
Belle shifted from one foot to the other, slightly uncomfortable under the Dark One's scrutiny.
But she needn't have worried.
With a grin and a giggle, Rumple announced, "Perfect," clapping his hands together.
And without further ado, the three of them set off, towards Regina's forbidding castle. They dropped the borrowed lady's maid off on their way (Rumple would have just "poofed" her back, but Belle had already said they'd get her home in a more ... orthodox manner).
"You never know, my dear, she might have enjoyed my usual method of travel," he remarked as they started off again.
"Or it might have terrified the poor girl to death," Belle shot back, slightly indignant that he'd even suggested such a thing, after how helpful the girl had been.
"As you wish," he'd said with a sardonic bow. She was challenging him and questioning him; instead of being furious, he was intrigued, wondering how far she would be willing to contradict him.
Regardless, Belle had promised the girl an ordinary ride home and that had been what she'd received.
As the girl stepped down from the carriage, Rumple handed her a spool of golden thread.
"For your services and your silence," he told the girl, reminding her, as he had when he'd borrowed her, that she and her family would be well paid for this endeavor, so long as she never spoke of it.
The girl nodded vigorously before accepting the spool of gold and running off. Well, that was one problem that had been easily solved. Now it was time to do the same with the masquerade.
"Where are we going?" Belle asked, peering out the windows of the carriage as the landscape went whipping by.
"Why, to a masquerade, of course!" was the flip response from the other side of the carriage, "Where you, my dear, will outshine even the Queen herself."
Belle stared at him, at a loss for words. He ... thought that she was beautiful enough to make the Queen jealous. It was, she supposed, rather flattering. At least at first. Until she realized that that was probably the reason he'd gone to so much trouble over this whole thing, not because he cared.
He saw the way her face lit up for a moment, and the way her expression had shift, and he thought he might know at least some of what she was thinking.
"That part is just a bonus," he added with a smirk. "The real fun in all of this ... is you," he told her.
Quite frankly, Belle didn't know what to say. She'd assumed one thing and he'd proved quite another.
"You have the most expressive face," he continued, the smirk still spread across his features, "It's quite like reading a book."
And just like that, in a moment, he'd turned her assumption back to its original idea. He was infuriating and intriguing and used that humor to deflect and it frustrated her to no end.
Truth be told, he was using humor and deflecting any actual serious conversation, at the moment, because he was terrified. This woman was breaking through all of his defenses and she wasn't even trying. All she was doing was being herself. She wanted him to drop his carefully built and maintained walls, to show her who he was. And what frightened him was that he wanted to. He knew better, thanks to Milah and Cora, knew that no one could ever love him, but he wanted Belle ... to know who he was, and who he had once been. And yes, the thought terrified him.
Right now, though, they had the Queen's masquerade to attend, and he couldn't afford to allow himself any such thoughts or weaknesses. Regina would pounce if she thought he'd had a moment of weakness, and his whole point of attending tonight was to make sure Belle had a good time.
Even as they were both pondering their respective confusion in relation to the other, Rumpelstiltskin's enchanted carriage arrived in front of Regina's forbidding palace.
"I think I prefer the Dark Castle," Belle commented taking one look at Regina's lair.
"It does have a rather ... homey feel, in comparison," he agreed with a smirk. Inwardly, he was quite pleased that she should prefer his Castle over Regina's. It showed, after all, that she appreciated his tastes.
Once the carriage had come to a halt, Rumpelstiltskin climbed down quickly, turning to offer Belle a hand down.
"Why, thank you," she smiled, accepting his help to alight from the carriage, skirts flowing around her. Despite the fact that the castle was rather forbidding, Belle was quite excited about the whole event; it had been such a long time since she'd been to anything like this, and this time, she was being escorted by the Dark One.
No sooner had Rumpelstiltskin's carriage pulled away than Regina herself had appeared.
"Our gracious hostess appears," Rumpelstiltskin intoned dryly, knowing the only reason Regina had invited him was to try to gloat about something.
"And why are you not wearing a mask?" Regina demanded, hands on her hips, completely ignoring Belle.
Rumpelstiltskin raised an eyebrow, then let out an incredulous laugh. "You really thought you could force me into doing something I didn't feel like doing, simply by 'requiring' it of everyone else?" he mocked. "Really, dearie, you should know better than that by now."
Regina glowered, finally noticing Belle, and that she, too, was unmasked.
"It's one thing for you to defy me," Regina spat, "but what is this ... girl doing without a mask?" she demanded. The girl was quite pretty...a little too pretty for Regina's liking.
"Why, she's escorting me, of course!" Rumple exclaimed, smirking. "And since I am not wearing a mask, you couldn't really expect me to force her to wear one, especially since it would hide her beauty," he commented pointedly.
Without another word, Regina huffed and stormed off, fuming. She'd thrown this ball so she could gloat at Rumpelstiltskin, but he had gotten the better of her, simply by bringing that girl along with him.
Belle had been watching the exchange between Rumpelstiltskin and Regina, unsure what to think about the whole situation.
"Who was that?" she asked.
"No one of consequence," he responded, waving Regina's presence away as though she didn't matter at all.
"And you brought me to this ... masquerade just to spite her?" Belle asked, incredulous. She'd believed him when he had said that all he wanted was for her to have a good time, but that little ... confrontation had proved otherwise.
"As I said earlier, my dear, that is just a bonus," he reiterated with a small smirk, "but she won't be bothering us again tonight; we can resume enjoying the evening."
With a grand flourish, he bowed, offering her his arm as he straightened.
Belle smiled and curtsied with a laugh, taking the arm that he offered.
"Why, thank you," she laughed.
Rumpelstiltskin realized, as she took his arm, that it was a good thing he always wore long sleeves; Belle's mere presence was captivating, and her hugs confounded him, simply because she was willing to touch him without any reservations. Every other being he had met after Bae had gone through that portal, even the woman who had claimed to care for him but had taken her own heart out instead of choosing him, had recoiled from him at one point or another, but this girl...this woman treated him like a human being. He hadn't realized he had missed that feeling until Belle had reminded him what it was like. She wasn't afraid of him, something for which he was actually quite thankful. Even when he had first ... acquired her, she hadn't been afraid of him. And he hadn't truly wanted her to fear him. He demanded respect and obedience, of course, but it was partly because he didn't frighten her that he had decided she would be his price, become his caretaker. He had simply gotten much more than he'd bargained for, with Belle.
After a moment, he realized that they were simply standing there because he'd been transfixed by Belle's touch, even though she'd only taken his arm. There were times that, if he didn't know better, he would have sworn that Belle had literally bewitched him.
But he would have time to ponder all of this later; right now, they had a masquerade to attend.
Pulling a smirk onto his lips to make up for his momentary confusion, Rumpelstiltskin led Belle into Regina's castle, directly to the ballroom, where the masquerade was being held. People moved out of the way when they saw the Dark One approaching, even as they stared and whispered about the beautiful young woman on his arm.
"Why is everyone staring?" Belle asked in an undertone, leaning in to Rumple slightly to make sure he could hear her.
"Clearly, my dear, they're stunned to see such an intelligent, beautiful woman anywhere near the Dark One," he responded, quirking an eyebrow at her. Did she really not know what an unusual woman she was, even to tolerate him, let alone to be willing to be this close to him, at all?
"Or it could be because we're the only ones not wearing any masks," she retorted, glancing around the ballroom. "Everyone else I can see has masks on," Belle pointed out.
Belle's insistence that it was simply that they were not wearing masks made Rumple laugh; her sense of humor would never fail to astound him. Even though, right now, she wasn't joking; she didn't see the monster that the others saw in him.
He knew perfectly well that the reason many of the other guests were staring at them was because there was such a stark contrast between the beautiful young woman and the creature known as the Dark One.
Rumpelstiltskin was perfectly used to the sorts of looks they were receiving: some curious, some fearful, and others downright hostile. However, he doubted that Belle was accustomed to such things. The fact that the looks didn't seem to bother her astounded him, much the way Belle herself continually surprised and intrigued him, the Dark One.
Belle watched the couples dancing, a wistful expression on her face. She'd been enjoying the day so far: talking with the lady's maid who had helped her get ready, trading quips with Rumpelstiltskin, and generally enjoying being outside of the Dark Castle.
As though he could tell what she was thinking, Rumpelstiltskin disentangled his arm from hers. For a moment, Belle almost looked hurt by this action, until she saw why he'd dropped her arm.
He bowed to the young woman, extending his hand for her own as he straightened. "Care to dance?" he asked, an expression somewhere between a smirk and a smile on his face.
Belle stared at his hand for a moment, slightly stunned that he was asking her if she wanted to dance. It was almost as though he'd read her mind. Beaming brilliantly, Belle curtsied and responded, "I would," as she put her hand in his.
Rumpelstiltskin led her onto the dance floor, positioning his right hand beneath Belle's shoulder-blade and holding his left up in the proper position for the dance.
With another brilliant smile, Belle placed her right hand in Rumpelstiltskin's left, her own left hand resting on Rumple's shoulder.
When the music began again, he led her in the steps of the dance, choosing to focus on the dance instead of her touch.