A typical school day between Belle and Baelfire.
It was two weeks into her stay at the Dark Castle, and Belle was finally beginning to get used to her schedule. She would wake up, get breakfast with Baelfire - and sometimes Rumplestiltskin - and then it was off to the schoolroom with her and Bae.
Baelfire was speeding through Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and enjoying it immensely. He asked a lot of questions about their type of magic. "But Belle," he'd protest. "Papa doesn't have to say words in order to make a spell happen, you know," his big blue eyes would stare up at hers trustingly, and she would kiss his forehead. "Well this is a fictional world, sweetheart." she would remind him.
One such day, Belle was overseeing his arithmetic. "I don't get it, Belle," Baelfire sighed dramatically. "I'm too dumb for Maths!"
"No you're not!" Belle argued, wrapping her arms around the small boy with a gentle hug. "You are not dumb at all, sweetheart." she promised. "Let's go over it again," She said, and they did. They worked the problem twice before Baelfire cried out that he had understood somewhat.
She smiled at him. "I'm so proud of you," she stated, kissing the top of his wee head. "Thank you for not giving up on me!" Baelfire exclaimed, wrapping his arms around her waist in a hug.
"Don't you worry, Bae. I'm not going to give up." Belle said determinedly. "Not on you, and not on your papa either," she murmured in a quieter tone, snuggling closer to Bae as they began to read together.