The cool water felt like heaven against Belle's skin as she slowly drifted across the surface of the cool lake. The hot sun beat down, but she felt content as she reveled in the peace and quiet. Briefly she wondered if Rumpelstiltskin would mind her leaving suddenly. She'd finished her chores, so surely he couldn't get too upset. She smiled as she thought of her peculiar master, and was so deep in her thoughts that she failed to notice the multitude of glowing red eyes gazing up at her from the darkness of the lake bed.
Rumpelstiltskin sat at his spinning wheel, churning out endless cords of glistening gold. He had told her he spun to forget, but as he sat there, the warm sunlight streaming through the massive windows, he couldn't help but remember. He was swarmed with memories of her warm body as she dropped from the ladder into his arms, the smile she'd given him, and ever laugh that ever flowed from her mouth with the beauty of a song at every quip he threw at her.
The shattering sound of an earsplitting scream brought him from his pleasant thoughts, and his black heart jumped in his chest. Belle. It only took a second for him to find her. The Dark Castles Lake was dangerous; filled with the evil beasts he'd collected over the years. Now his Belle could be dead because he'd never warned her.
Spotting the thrashing water in the center of the lake, he dove. Using his magic, he propelled himself through the murky water. He could see the shining, iridescent scales of the beasts that had drawn the struggling girl into the depths. The mermaids gnashed their sharp, jagged teeth, like shards of broken glass jutting from their black gums. Belle had stopped moving in their clawed grip, and his chest tightened as he feared the worst.
Killing the cruel creatures took only a second; a flash of his powers was all it took. Only a moment later, he broke through the surface and pulled the still body of the girl who had wormed her way close to him to the shore. Her lips were blue, and her chest lacked the subtle movement that signaled life. Rumpelstiltskins hands flashed with the healing magic his Bae had hated so much. He urged the life into the dying girl, his breath stuck in his throat as he feared his help came too late.
When Belle began coughing water, and the color began to return to her face, the breath he'd been holding flew from his chest. She glanced up at him with blood shot eyes full of confusion.
"I'm alive?" she asked with a rough voice.
"Yes, I'm afraid I'll just have to try harder with my next attempt, now won't I?" At her look of bewilderment, he chuckled. "Another quip, dearie. At this rate I fear you'll never catch on." She let out a laugh that quickly turned into a coughing fit, but the smile never left her face. He couldn't help but smile back at the beautiful girl lying in his arms.
As Belle's coughing died down, she continued to smile up at the grinning imp she'd become close to. As much as it shocked the young princess, and she didn't want to admit it, but she was beginning to feel for the trickster that had taken her from her home and family. Maybe someone really could learn to love a beast.