It's Called a Scavenger Hunt, Dearie
Companion piece to A Box of Chocolates
Easter was approaching in Storybrooke and Rumple was pondering how to celebrate it with Belle. He knew that the celebration had a lot of meaning to the Christians in this new land, it was the resurrection of their Savior and Lord. But for those of them from Fairytale Land, Easter was actually a celebration of spring, rebirth, and renewal. It was also known as the Festival of the Hare, and the goddess Eastre was the patron of it. The Easter hare—or rabbit—was supposed to bring good luck to those who saw it, and so eggs and gifts of vegetables were left to tempt the hare into appearing in the yard. Children also were given small gifts of candy to celebrate the sweetness of the spring season. Eggs were dyed bright colors, representing all the new spring flowers, and flowers were also a traditional gift. A child born upon Easter was considered blessed.
He supposed he could have bought Belle some flowers or a new bonnet or dress, as was common to celebrate the holiday in their land. If they had a church here, they could have attended services like other couples. But Rumple wished most of all for something he had yet to receive—a reunion with his son, Baelfire. So far he had not yet discovered how to leave the town without losing his memories, and experimenting with new potions and drafts consumed a great deal of his time when he wasn't working in his pawnshop.
Belle had currently moved back into his Victorian since her accident, because she needed to be in a place where she didn't need to climb up and down stairs everyday, since her fractured ribs and ankle needed time to heal. Rumple would have hired a nurse for her, but Belle had assured him that wasn't necessary, so instead he had made her an invisible servant, called Ariel, after the wind sprite in Shakespeare's The Tempest. Ariel would come when Belle summoned her and fetch things for her and carry things if necessary.
Currently Belle was wearing a soft cast about her left ankle so she didn't jar it and a wrap around her ribs beneath her clothing. The injuries made it difficult for her to bend over and she was not permitted to lift anything heavy. Rumple joked when he'd first brought her home that now she couldn't read the dictionary, unless he gave her a tablet where she could have online access.
It had been almost a month and a half since her injury in the library, and Whale had assured her the injuries were mending slowly but steadily. Soon she would start physical therapy for her ankle and have the wrap removed.
Easter was this coming Sunday and Rumple, bolstered by his success with his Valentine's Day present, wanted to make this day equally memorable for his little librarian. He felt guilty that she had been a victim of that wretched pirate, who had attacked her to get back at him, for a vendetta begun hundreds of years ago in their old realm, one that had begin because the greedy seaman couldn't keep his hands off Rumple's wife and encouraged the trollop to run off with him, leaving their son without a mother. It was that which infuriated Rumple the most, that she had hurt and abandoned Bae, and then had the gall to cry to him that she had fallen in love with the pirate she had played tramp with in the tavern and it was why she had left. Rumple had counted it one of the biggest mistakes of his life marrying that two-bit trollop, and the only good thing to come out of it was his precious boy. Hook had been welcome to her, but had insisted on humiliating the crippled spinner in front of his crew for sheer pleasure, and again continuing the pattern of bullying years later when Rumple was the Dark One, mistaking him for a helpless ugly beggar who looked like a crocodile. His ill timed shove had resulted in Rumple challenging him to a duel, and what had followed had been the pirate's own fault, as well as that of his shrewish lover. Not that Hook would ever admit it. Like most villains, they preferred to blame everyone else for their own misdeeds.
Yet the pirate targeted Belle as his pawn in his revenge gambit. Except right then he wouldn't be targeting anyone. Since Emma had arrested him and he was now cooling his heels in Storybrooke jail, with charges for assault and battery brought by Mr. Gold on Belle's behalf as her attorney. Gold planned on making sure Hook stayed behind bars for a very long time, if not forever.
The trial was scheduled for after Easter, so Gold was not concerned at the moment with prosecuting his case. He was instead considering what would make Belle smile and as he carefully folded Bae's shawl and put it inside his safe he recalled something he had forgotten.
When Bae had been a small boy Rumple had organized a scavenger hunt for the dyed eggs and had sometimes managed to buy some chocolate candy eggs for the occasion and hide them too for his son. Bae loved riddles and delighted in the once a year scavenger hunt.
Rumple knew that Belle also delighted in riddles and logic games, and so did he. Both were possessed of a very clever brain, and often sought out things which tested and challenged it. Therefore it was natural he would devise some challenges for the scavenger hunt he had in mind. Since the enchanted chocolates had been such a success, he also would use them in his hunt, making them vehicles for his clues.
And the prize?
Well, that was going to be something wonderful.
Smiling one of his toothy impish grins, the master of the Dark Castle and deals set to work.
Page~*~*~*~*~Break
Belle was shocked when Rumple returned home early from work, and at first feared he was ill. "You're not sick are you?"
"No. I'm fine. I can't get sick with my curse," he explained breezily. Sometimes immortality had its perks. Not often, but sometimes. "Belle, I need you to . . .go and read a book in the gazebo for about twenty minutes."
She cocked her head at him, puzzled. "You-need me to read a book outside? Why?"
"Umm . . . it's for something I'm doing, it's a surprise, and I need you to not be in here for awhile," he explained awkwardly. He needed time to place each clue just so. Belatedly he considered that he might have waited till she was sleeping, but too late now.
"Rumple, what is going on in that devious mind of yours?" she chuckled.
"Mischief," he teased back. "And merriment. Now shoo!" He flapped a hand at her.
Belle went, reluctantly for now her curiosity was raging.
Rumple hid all his clues inside the chocolate shaped bunnies with his face on them. Then he placed each one in the proper spot. There! Everything was ready for the scavenger hunt tomorrow morning, which was Easter.
He rubbed his hands together in glee. He could hardly wait till the morning, and wished he could speed up time. But time, even for an immortal, was something that remained fixed in its course.
Outside in the gazebo, Belle had Gone With the Wind dangling from her hand, Scarlett and Rhett's troubles forgotten as she tried to contain her insatiable curiosity. She couldn't fathom what Rumple was doing, and her imagination kept going off in tangents. One thing she was sure of, that this would be a surprise as lovely as the one he had given her on Valentine's Day. For despite his beastly reputation and the curse that imprisoned him, Rumple was at heart a sweet and clever soul, one that delighted in making those he loved happy. Or trying to.
Whatever he had planned, she was sure it was going to take her breath away. She just hoped whatever it was involved him in his leather pants. For some reason ever since she had moved back into the Victorian, she had a yearning to see him in his leather pants. She just hadn't felt comfortable asking.
Mostly because she was ashamed of how she had first treated him after waking up from the Dark Curse. It was strange but now that she thought about it, her behavior was totally bizarre, and utterly unlike her—not taking into consideration Rumple's need to protect her after she had been tortured and held captive, her own suddenly blasé reaction to her tormentor Regina, quarreling with Rumple, treating him like some lackey that had to behave the way she thought he should, not taking into consideration his curse, leaving him repeatedly—all of that made her think she might have been cursed-but subtly—by the Evil Queen as a kind of revenge on Rumple. After all, the Dark One had many enemies, and what better way to hurt him than to make her into an unforgiving sanctimonious bitch on wheels? Instead of the woman who had promised she would always fight for him?
Well, it seemed whatever had possessed her was gone now after her accident at Hook's hands and subsequent stay in the hospital and her recuperation here at the Victorian. She no longer felt angry at Rumple for using his magic, or inclined to be shrewish and temperamental. She had her library, though she had shortened the hours due to her disability for now, and she was planning on helping Rumple not only find his son, but also break his curse. Because that's what you did when you truly loved someone. You helped them any way possible.
Like Rumple had done to her.
Page~*~*~*~Break
Easter morning:
"Now, close your eyes, dearie, and no peeking!" Rumple singsonged as his hand came to cover Belle's azure eyes. He even gave his trademark giggle as he did so.
"Rumple! What is this?" she protested, obediently shutting her eyes.
"You'll see!" he gently spun her around three times. "Now, open your eyes."
They were in the foyer of the Victorian, with the sun sparkling in dazzling rainbow prisms through the stained glass rose window and making exquisite patterns on the floor.
Belle was dressed in a soft lavender dress with a flared scalloped hem and one matching ballet slipper, her other foot was still wearing its cast. She had delicate abalone combs in her hair.
Rumple, behind her, was wearing a matching lavender shirt, a charcoal gray Armani suit, and a paisley purple tie. He looked very debonair, though he wouldn't have thought so.
When she opened her eyes after he had removed his hands, she glanced around. "I don't see anything—oh!"
For there on the floor, amid the dancing prisms, was a message.
It said Start Here.
"Start here," she muttered. "What am I starting?"
"It's called a scavenger hunt, dearie. You and I are going to have a little fun this morning and play a game. You have to follow the clues I've hidden around the house until you get to the surprise I've planned for you."
"So this is the reason you wanted me out of the house!"
"One of them, yes," he smirked. "Now, each clue is hidden in a chocolate bunny. Figure it out and it'll lead you to the next one. There are six clues altogether. In order to get the clue you have to . . . eat the chocolate, at least a little bit."
"How long do I have?"
"Oh, let's say . . .two and a half hours, though I'm sure it won't take you that long."
"What if I don't figure them all out?"
"I'll give you hints. Now . . . let the game begin!"
He giggled wickedly and vanished.
She stood in the middle of the foyer, pondering her next move. As she gazed around, she tried to figure out where he might have hidden a clue.
She looked at the mosaic, then back to the floor.
It was then she noticed glowing tracks—like pawprints.
She followed them across the foyer. They led to a vase of Easter flowers on a stand.
Peering inside, she found the first bunny.
Like Rumple had said, the bunny was chocolate, the same kind of rich dark chocolate as the Valentine's Day candy, with another surprising feature—it had Rumple's face on it.
"Oh! How darling!" she cooed and picked up the bunny.
As soon as she touched it, the bunny came "alive". "Hello, dearie!" it greeted her. "I see you followed your feet and found me where bunnies usually are—in the garden. Now, in order to get the clue inside me—you need to eat a part of me."
"Eat you? But I couldn't!" she protested.
"Of course you can. I'm 100% pure Belgian chocolate, meant to be eaten. Because Easter is the season of renewal, and nothing renews quite like chocolate."
He twitched his nose like a bunny's and giggled.
Belle smiled at the beloved imp's face. "If you're sure?"
"I am. You want to get a clue, don't you?"
"Okay," she said, and then she bit off the bunny's ears.
The luscious taste of chocolate filled her mouth, nearly sending her into raptures of delight. The rich and sweet taste lingered on her tongue as she swallowed and she nearly took another bite before looking and seeing a small piece of paper inside.
She fished it out and opened it.
Rumple's voice spoke from the air.
"Listen closely, my dear
And ye shall hear
Aboot a bonny red rose
And the lad who loved a lass so fine,
Now made immortal in a book of love divine.
Seek and ye shall find!"
Belle savored the sound of his voice, tinged with his beloved accent, and pondered the clue given.
The irresistible scent of chocolate drifted to her nostrils and she ate the rest of the bunny.
Then, clutching the paper in her hand, which had the clue written out, she walked into the den, where a bookshelf was, and began looking through it, trying to find a book that mentioned roses and love.
Finding nothing, she went down the hall to the study, where Rumple had more books, and began searching there.
When she found no volumes with those words, she frowned and read the clue again.
Peering at his desk, she saw a book's corner sticking out of a tack of papers.
She removed them and found a slim volume entitled, Scottish Poetry, with a red ribbon marker.
It was then she recalled Rumple's favorite poet, Robert Burns.
And his most famous work—A Red Red Rose.
Smiling she opened the book to the correct verse—and found another Rumple bunny recessed there.
This one was milk chocolate and held a pink rose in its paw.
She picked it up and it giggled and said, "A rose for a bonny lass."
"Thank you, kind sir," she grinned and ate it. It was just as good as the first chocolate.
"I hate to do this, but—I can't help myself. You're addicting!"
She bit off the ears and head this time.
Once again her mouth exploded with sheer delight as she let the decadent chocolate melt on her tongue.
Then she removed the new clue.
This time Rumple's voice sang,
"This riddle's answers are two fold, dearie,
So listen carefully,
Then discover where the bunny shall be.
In this land, they tell the tale
Of the miller's daughter and the imp
She deals with to spin straw into gold.
What does he ask on the first day for his price?
Then a beauty makes a deal with beast
To go with him forever,
And he gives her something to see
Her missing family.
What is it?"
Now Belle knew the tales he was referring to—as they were in fact tales told about themselves in this land—Rumplestiltskin and Beauty and the Beast.
Since her awakening in this land, she had done her best to familiarize itself with its culture, and so she went to the shelves in her own room, and took down a volume of fairy tales.
Then she found the corresponding tales and read them swiftly.
In Rumplestiltskin, the first thing the miller's daughter pays the imp with was her mother's necklace.
In Beauty and the Beast, the Beast gave Belle a mirror to see her family.
The two things were something she had upon her dresser.
When she went over to it, and opened her small jewelry box, a handcarved one from Sienna, she found another Rumple bunny.
This one jumped into her hand.
"Oh dearie dearie dear! You found me!" it chuckled, twitching its tail.
"Do you have a clue for me?"
"Of course! Eat me! Eat me!" It hopped up and down in her palm.
With a wicked smirk reminiscent of her beastly master, Belle bit off the bunny's paw first.
Inside was the next clue.
This time, Rumple's voice recited gravely:
"I am fire-freighted
and I flirt with wind
and my limbs are lightly freighted
and my many arms wrapped in flame
you read me
and I carry you cross water
and I strain to fly
in the spring, a grove leaf-bearing
and in fall a glowing ember
hand to hand around the hall
friend to friend, I'm kissed by all
I drink as deep as I am tall:
say what I am."
As she pondered the answer she finished the rest of the bunny, musing that this riddle was a rather difficult one . . .
Then she gazed out the window, and saw the trees swaying softly in the gentle breeze.
"I've got it! You're a tree!" she exclaimed, then she ran outside.
Beneath a large maple she found another bunny. This one gave her a math problem to solve, and when she had figured out how many spokes a spinning wheel had, it led her into the den, where she found a fifth bunny among the golden yarn.
This one giggled when she poked it, and wore a little suit.
"You light up my life," it sang. "You give me hope, to carry on . . ."
Belle gave a little giggle herself. "You're sweet."
"That's me, dearie. Sweet as sugar . . .until you break a deal with me. Or hurt someone I love."
"Do you have a riddle for me?"
"Is my name Rumplestiltskin?" it shot back.
"You know it is," she returned.
"And you know what to do!" It smirked.
This time she bit off the nose first, and found a fifth riddle.
"Once I was whole,
Part of four,
Till I fell upon the floor
Shattered my worth negligible
Yet I am cherished above all things
For what I represent is worth more than gold.
What am I?"
She paced about the room, trying to figure out what would still be cherished despite being broken.
It took her several long moments before she came up with "heart" but even then she didn't think it was right. A heart was not a fourth part of a set.
She sighed and sat down in the rocking chair trying to think of something else Rumple would refer to . . .and after several more minutes it dawned on her.
She jumped to her feet and ran into the kitchen.
She found it on a silver chased tray and picked it up. "My chipped cup!"
She recalled Rumple saying that, "There are many things in this shop, but only one thing I cherish above all . . ."
It was this—the symbol of their love, chipped yet cherished above all things.
And inside was the sixth bunny, this one popped up with a cup in its paws.
"Would you like a cup of tea, dearie?" it purred.
She discovered the cup came off and was filled with delicious hot cocoa with cinnamon. She drank it down, then ate the cup and said, "Now I think you're the last one . . .too bad."
"You saved the best for last," it winked at her.
"And that's how I'll eat you," she declared, and ate the tail first.
It tasted delicious.
The last riddle was short but sweet.
"I am a box without hinges, keys, or lid. Yet inside golden treasure is hid."
Belle had to admit she had heard this before. But where?
She stared into the depths of the chipped cup.
Then she glanced around the kitchen. There was a small wicker basket with a bunch of colored eggs in it-one of the traditional offerings for Easter.
As she stared at it, she had her answer.
"An egg!"
She ran over to the basket and picked them up. She shook them.
Nothing happened.
Then she heard a giggle from behind her.
"Rumple, where are you?" she called. "I guessed the sixth clue!"
"Follow the rainbow chicks, dearie!"
"Huh? What rainbow-?"
She gasped as the colored eggs grew feet and morphed into fuzzy rainbowed chicks which peeped sweetly and then jumped from the basket and ran out the slightly open back door into the backyard.
Belle trotted along behind them. "Now where are they going?"
She soon figured that out, as the chicks suddenly circled a lifesized purple speckled egg.
"Peep! Peep!Peep!"
"Rumple?" she called, tapping on the egg.
There was an echo.
"To open the door, you must say the Secret Magic Words!" the imp hooted.
Belle coughed. "There's only one phrase I know that's the least bit magical."
"Then say it, dearie!"
She moistened her lips. "I love you."
The egg cracked in two, revealing that it was a chocolate egg that was hollow inside, and Rumple stepped from within it, garbed in a flowing purple velvet shirt and his fine dragonscale leather pants.
"Congratulations, Belle! You've won the grand prize!" he purred suavely, his eyes sparkling, his mouth curving in an irresistible sweet smile more potent than any potion and more intoxicating than wine.
As he came towards her, he knelt on one knee and held out his hand. In it was a beautiful Fabrege-like golden egg.
"Rumple, what is—"
"Open it," he said, trying to ignore how her eyes were drawn to him. His heart was thundering in his chest.
She took the egg box and opened it.
Inside was a beautiful blue diamond ring, with the gold band in the shape of the willow branch on the chipped cup. Tears filled her eyes. "Oh!" she whispered, her voice reverent and hushed. "This is . . . it's . . . do you mean . . .?"
She felt as if her tongue were separate from her body, an unwieldy thing that she couldn't make work.
"Belle . . .will you marry me?" he asked softly, hesitantly. "I know that we've had our problems since this curse broke, but . . .I felt that since this is a time of renewal and rebirth that—it was time for me to do something that I wished I had done long ago. Risk my heart again. You were right when you said I would regret letting you go. I did . . .I do. I was a coward—afraid of love—"
She put a finger to his lips. "No. I was wrong. I was angry, I spoke those words to hurt you . . .because I had fallen in love despite everything and you were too scared to trust me. I should never have left that day, never have walked away. I broke our deal . . .and I broke both our hearts. And I've lived with the pain of it ever since. I said you would have nothing except an empty heart and a chipped cup. But I had only an empty heart to console me in Regina's tower."
"I'm sorry, it was my fault she kidnapped you," he began, the regret of a thousand lifetimes shimmering in his eyes.
"No! It was my father who arranged it—and her fault for doing so. She wanted to use me to hurt you—and that was her doing! And mine, for putting myself within her reach. Like I said, had I stayed with you—she never would have been able to take me. But I let my wounded pride and anger dictate my actions. And I have regretted it as much as you."
She slipped the ring on her finger. "But with this ring, I accept your proposal . . .and I say this is a time for new beginnings. The time for regrets is over. That's in the past. This is now. And I want you, Rumplestiltskin, more than I have ever wanted anything—anyone—in my life. I want you beside me, forever. As they say in this land—in sickness and health, for better for worse. I am Gaia and you are Gaius, whither thou goest I go."
"Belle . . .can you really want me? This old monster?"
"You are not a monster. You are cursed," she replied, and drew him to his feet. "And that curse is one I mean to break soon. Once you find where Bae is, once you figure out how to cross the town line. Because after you have done those things . . .you no longer need your dark magic."
"But without it—what good am I? How can I protect you? I will be nothing-like I was before—" he cried fearfully. "The magic has become a crutch I cannot walk without."
"The dark magic," she corrected. "No one ever said anything about light magic. You can learn that instead. And if you need a crutch to walk, you can lean on me," she said firmly. "Because I shall love you whether you are sorcerer or spinner, because I love you, cursed and uncursed. And without you—I am but dust and shadows."
She clasped his hands in hers, gazing deeply into his eyes. "Trust me, Rumple. I will not leave you ever again. This I promise."
He gazed back into her eyes—and saw the truth burning brightly within them.
As he did so, he understood at last the true meaning of the holiday—it was the rebirth of dreams, the renewal of hope, and the belief that anything was possible—even for one such as he was.
True love was not merely an ideal, it was a reality.
It was here before him.
All he had to do was reach out and take it.
He drew his beauty into his arms and kissed her, sealing the deal forever.
It was kiss of promises made and broken, of passion as great as the stars in the heavens, of love lost and found, but most of all it was kiss that took the other's heart and then gave their own in return.
Light filled his soul, illuminating the dark places, and then spilled over into her, filling her with his dazzling brightness.
And the empty hearts were empty no longer.
He felt the curse within him begin to wither and fade. Not completely, for something more was needed to break it, but it was a beginning.
Belle drew back, her head awhirl with desire, her heart full of love. "Sometimes the best teacup is chipped."
Then her hand slipped down to his leather clad backside, and she pinched him. "And sometimes the best man is hotter then hell in leather pants."
He laughed huskily. "Belle! Are you—propositioning me?"
She tilted her head back slightly, her cerulean eyes dancing. "What are you going to do about it, huh?" she challenged.
"The only thing I can," he purred. Then he picked her up in his arms. "Accept, dearie." Then he pinched her back. "Saucy minx! Don't you know you're not supposed to go around kissing beasts?"
"You're my beast, sweetheart. And I can kiss you anytime I wish," she replied pertly, then she kissed him again, rendering him momentarily speechless.
After he regain what breath he had left, he began to walk towards the house, his beloved held securely in his arms, a new swagger in his step, his leather pants displaying his backside irresistibly as Belle peered over his shoulder, admiring the view.
It was one she never grew tired of.
On her hand, her ring winked like a rogue star fallen from the heavens.
Her lips curving in a seductive smile, Belle leaned her head against her fiance's velvet clad shoulder and savored the most delectable prize of all—Rumplestiltskin in leather, hotter than hell, sweeter than chocolate, and hers forevermore.
A/N: because I just had to write a sequel for my lovely dearie, Terri! This is how I wanted S2 to go. Hope you all liked! Rumbelle lives always and forever!