AquaJasmine23 prompted: WDYS verse, He Misses Her, Belle's POV. Oh boy! More Angst!

And She Waited

The mirror was cold and dark. It always was when she came to visit. Belle refused to call forth the image of her beloved when she appeared to gawk at her prey. That was a rather nice way to put it, she thought acidly as the burning wounds on her back flared with a fresh wave of pain as she was pressed into the stone wall.

"What does he plan to do with this curse he's created? When will it be unleashed? What will it do to our realm?"

Belle's cold laughter echoed through the ancient chamber. "I'll never betray my husband," she insisted, her lips curled back from her teeth in a snarl. Already she could feel the burning recede as her skin knit back together despite the icy chill of fairy magic that clung to her flesh. It made her stomach churn with nausea and every inch of her body itch. Rumpelstiltskin's dark blood residing in her veins did not mix well with the sticky goodness that pervaded the fairy.

Her eyes flicked over Rheul Ghorm's shoulder to the darkened mirror hanging upon the wall, her only means of being able to see her love. Sometimes it was more torture than comfort, but she wouldn't trade it for anything…except maybe her freedom. But there was only one way to secure that, and she would never turn away from her dark sorcerer, never renounce her love for him, never willingly turn her back on him.

Even now she burned with the need to have him hold her in his arms. It was a painful ache in her blood, her bones, her very soul, to be separated from him. The magic, his magic, which coursed through her yearned to be joined with its master, and every moment she was away from him, she was forced to endure the minute stinging pain just beneath her skin.

And so she waited.

Belle pushed away from the wall, crossing her arms defiantly over her chest as she raised her stubborn chin and stared obstinately at the ruler of the fairies. The tinkling lilt of Rhuel Ghorm's falsely sympathetic tones were enough to make Belle cover her mouth in revulsion to hold onto the contents of her stomach.

"Belle, dear, there really is no need for all the pain. Simply tell me what I want to know and I may very well let you go," the blue fairy said with a gentle smile.

She recoiled as another wave of fairy magic assailed her, and she dropped uselessly back against her cot in the center of the room, unable to move. The dark magic in her veins throbbed painfully through her, fighting to return mobility to her painful limbs. All to no avail. It needed to stop…now. She didn't want to linger in the throes of agony for half a day and miss out on using her mirror. She turned her gaze to the beveled glass and swallowed with some difficulty around the lump that seemed to be permanently lodged there in her efforts to hold her tears at bay.

Apparently the little insect was ready to attempt to remove the golden bracelets from her captive, Belle thought bitterly. Once a week, the fairy tried to remove Rumpelstiltskin's gift and once a week, she failed miserably…most times causing herself some damage in the process. Rheul Ghorm might be blessed by the gods and twice as old as the Dark One, but she was still no match for his power.

Belle held out her arms, unable to fight the compulsion and steeled herself for more pain as the fairy withdrew her wand and began to chant over the gleaming gold bands encircling Belle's wrists.

And she waited.

Her voice was as soft as rose petals as she spoke. "Did you know that my Rumpel loves peach tarts? Or that he has a soft spot for children?" She asked, taking great satisfaction in the way Rheul Ghorm's fingers tightened about her wand. "No one in the known realms would fear him if they could see how his eyes light with pleasure when I read to him in the evenings after supper. They would be aghast to see how he will lay a single finger aside my face in just a ghost of a caress, as if he feels unworthy to touch me. He's so gentle…"

The fairy gnashed her teeth together and doubled her efforts. "Enough lies, princess. It seems his influence is more deeply imbedded in you than I'd originally believed."

Belle bit into her lip, her back bowing as another wave of pure fire swept through her veins. "He's tender and good and loves more deeply than someone as unfeeling as you could ever comprehend. You will never break me. You will never bend me. Do your worst, bug, but you will never make me stop loving him."

The Dark One's wife channeled every ounce of magic she possessed in her tiny frame into the golden cuffs encircling her wrists to repel her tormentor. A slow smile curved her lips as the fairy was blasted off her feet, her own magic rebounding to send her flying back through the magical barrier that kept Belle a prisoner in the tower room. Her head rolled on the rough-hewn blanket, so weak she was unable to lift it. A mere breath of a laugh escaped her lips as she noticed the singed tendrils of ginger hair laying lank against the fairy's brow and the small wisps of smoke curling from them. Another small victory, but a victory nonetheless.

"See you next week, bug," she spat, using all her strength to turn on her side and gaze longingly at the mirror. Only when she'd heard the small pop of Rhuel teleporting away from the fortress did she allow the tears to spill over her lashes.

And she waited.

She didn't cry for the vicious roiling of nausea in her stomach, nor did she cry for the stinging ache just beneath her skin which was a constant companion. She didn't cry for the abuse she suffered at the hands of such a 'benevolent' being, either. No, she was brave, she was strong, she would endure. Only one thing fueled her…to be reunited with her husband. Nothing mattered more to her than finding a way back into his arms.

She dragged herself off the cot, cursing softly as her legs gave out beneath her. Yet, there was nothing to stop her from achieving her goal as she crawled across the rough stone floor, the uneven surface biting painfully into her flesh and tearing open the skin of her knees or cutting into her palms. It would be worth it for one glimpse of her love. Rhuel was gone, not expected back for another week. She could have all the time in between to watch Rumpelstiltskin. And watch him she would.

"Show me Rumpelstiltskin," she commanded, biting her lip with impatience as the surface of the mirror swirled and frothed before finally coalescing into the image of her husband.

She jerked back with a start as flames leapt along the surface, the image slowly showing his slumped form on his knees before the hearth Her heart died a slow death as she took in his heartbroken features, his weathered cheeks stained with tears, her chipped cup clasped tightly in his clawed hand as he held it to his chest. The pain of loss wreathed his entire body, his posture that of someone who'd lost all hope.

"No, no, no," she wailed, her head shaking violently back and forth as she screamed her denial. "No, darling, I'm right here. Don't lose faith in us, Rum." Tears coursed down her ashen cheeks as she pressed her palms against the glass, wishing more than anything that she would reach through the shimmering surface and cradle his face in her hands. Wished desperately that she could whisper tender reassurances of her love in his ear.

"Oh, Belle, I miss you so much," he cried softly, his face screwed up in an expression of abject misery that tore through her chest as easily as a knife would slide through butter. She'd promised never to leave him, never to abandon him as so many others had. She'd vowed to stay by his side…forever…and because of the well-intentioned machinations of that flying jellyfish, she'd had to break her word.

"I love you, Rumpel. Please don't give up," she whispered brokenly, pressing her brow to the mirror's cool surface. "Don't give up, my love. I'll wait for you, just don't give up."

And she waited.