Winter was relentless. Piercing and unforgiving especially in the scattered mountain villages of the North, several feet of snow already lay packed across the landscape. The threat of more seemed to linger in the heavy grey clouds above.
Fortunately, well adapted people still found ways to enjoy what could only be looked at as an invitation for an early death. The winter solstice celebration had started that day and everyone in the mountain villages had been preparing. All morning stall after stall went up, merchants from far away came with their winter treats and trinkets, children ran around with their holly leaves and nutcracker toys, and neighbors were in front of their doors exchanging well wishes and Yule logs as gifts. In the very middle of the town square a large evergreen tree stood decorated with clothing and food items.
Not so far away from all the festivities, the Dark Castle loomed, snow piled high on the outside pillars and frost hardening on the tallest flagpoles. The garden below was hidden in a sweet sleep of white where the fountain was barely visible. Oddly, the place did not look as menacing as it usually did other times of the year. Because of this, many of the nearby villagers were unafraid to extend their festival cheer nearer to the castle gates and outer walls.
Clearly disgruntled at his usual seclusion being broken by a holiday he never bothered to celebrate anymore, Rumplestiltskin cursed under his breath and glared out his open window of his working tower to the newest offender of his peace: a little girl of about ten attempting to place a large hellebore bloom in one of the cracks of the towering stone wall surrounding his castle. Her little fingers were within centimeters of the stone before a puff of light blue smoke erupted and the flower shot back from her hands, knocking her off her feet. The imp gleaming and giggled at the display, pleased that his protection spell was still intact.
"Here you are," a voice from behind him called. Belle had arrived with a silver tray of food in her hand. She had gotten up extra early that day to cook him a different kind of breakfast, a dish from her homeland he might enjoy.
Rumplestiltskin did not hear her, a frown quickly replacing his smile. The little girl, although hurt from the little sting of magic, picked up the hellebore bloom again and did the same thing, watching the flower bounce back off the wall.
"I uh, thought you would be in your spinning room," Belle continued, settling the tray down on the stool (remembering his advice of not placing it on the table next to all of his potions) and taking a few awkward steps towards him. "I made this one speci-"
"Stop," the imp finally said, gesturing a finger to her impatiently, his narrowed eyes still fixed on the girl. "Don't move, Belle."
"What is it?"
Rumplestiltskin snapped his fingers and the girl instantly disappeared from the wall in a haze of thick purple smoke. "There." He sighed in relief and headed back to his table when he once again heard laughter of children. More of them were in among the trees, singing their songs, dancing, and hanging lanterns everywhere.
"I can't get rid of them!" Rumplestiltskin seethed, snapping his fingers yet again and shutting the curtains tight with magic. A loud sound like an explosion was soon heard in the distance followed by wailing and shouts. "It's the same every year."
"I heard children screaming down there. Rumple did you...?" Belle's shy demeanor deteriorated and she now looked sternly at the imp.
"I only frightened them, dearie, no real harm done," he managed quickly, twisting around to regard her with a strange look. "Why are you still here? You gave me my breakfast, now go clean somewhere," He moved around his table and mindlessly picked up potion bottles and rearranged spells.
But Belle did not move from her spot, wringing her hands and shuffling her feet nervously. She stared down at the floor as she spoke. "There's something I wanted to talk to you about." She blurted, causing the imp to pause and blink at her as if surprised she was still there.
"Yes, well get on with it, what?"
"Well, since it's the start of the winter solstice festival today," she chose her words carefully, figuring if she said one wrong word he'd disagree right away. "I was wondering if it would be possible for...for me...for us to go?" It was a large step for Belle to ask something like that. The last time she was out of the castle had been when he forced her to track down Robin Hood with him.
Rumplestiltskin fidgeted with his fingers and sighed, impatient as always. "And why would I allow you to just frolic about when my castle needs cleaning?"
Belle stood her ground and forced herself to continue, looking him straight in the face with a smile. "Oh, but it would be so much fun! Might we go this once? Please?"
Rumplestiltskin paused at the question. He made the mistake of looking up from his work to her expectant face. She looked so childlike there, lightly bouncing on her toes as if she were asking if she could play with her favorite toy. Her eyes shown bluer and the red in her cheeks were merry with hope.
His memory called him back. Baelfire was standing before him, pleading to go to the Autumn festival. Rumplestiltskin did not much like public events, as he was often made fun of and cursed at, and he knew his limp embarrassed Milah. But Baelfire would not give up, kept at it, telling him it would be fun and they would make blessing knots to place in the house, watch as people danced around the great bonfire. Rumplestiltskin could not say no to him.
It was there he saw Baelfire's face in Belle's and the word yes left his lips faster than he could process it.
"Really? Oh Rumple, thank you! I'll go and get my cloak." And before he knew it she was happily running down the stairs, her special breakfast completely forgotten. What had he just agreed to?
Whispers and murmurs followed them everywhere. While the people of the mountain were accustomed to him coming down during Market days, It simply wasn't usual at all for The Dark One to be strolling between festival stalls with a girl on his arm, especially one so beautiful. Said beauty led him down row after row of stalls, completely immersed in the charm and
"Oh, this looks lovely!" Belle exclaimed joyfully, a large smile spreading across her face and causing the vender before her to flush slightly. He was holding out a tray of delicate red cakes wrapped in a deep green ribbon. "They're cherry flavored, my lady," he said, offering her one shakily, fearful of offending The Dark One beside her. Belle immediately reached out a hand to take, but then realized her place just as soon. She lowered her hand and glanced at the Imp, asking for permission she knew would be granted. When Rumplestiltskin rolled his eyes and gave a curt nod, Belle couldn't help but squeeze his arm in happiness and take the sweet. When he paid stiffly for it, the vender thanked the both of them and soon enough Belle was pulling him along again.
Truthfully, Rumplestiltskin could think of a hundred reasons why he didn't want to be there, shouldn't be there. He cared not for these festivals or villagers, and neither did they care for him. But something in him stilled those negative thoughts in his mind when Belle asked for the coin to pay for a large blackberry pie, her wonder and excitement causing her face to light with beauty he pretended not to notice.
Soon they both were at the end of the rows of stalls. Onward was a slightly darker path not lit up with decorations. It wasn't smooth like the others, but jagged rocks cut rudely into the path, as if discouraging any travel upon it. Rumplestiltskin began to turn away, but Belle tugged on him. "Rumple, where does that lead to?"
He raised an eyebrow and grinned in a menacing way (or as menacing as he can get when Belle was concerned). "Oh you don't want to go down there, dearie," he replied offhandedly. "That leads to the winter troll. A silly little myth the villagers seem to be taken with and foolishly believe in."
For a moment he felt Belle tighten her grip on his arm. Was she actually frightened of his words? He looked sideways and caught her expression. It was fearful, yes, but also held a dangerous curiosity. For all the months he'd known her as his housekeeper, that look was unmistakable and well known. He lost count of all the messes he had to get her out of due to that exact look.
"Come along now, Belle," he said, beginning to tug them around. The wind took a nasty turn as it nipped and numbed their faces harshly. Belle, however, had a mind of her own.
"Oh but look, there's something written here!" A little farther down the path, a medium slab of silvery rock jutted out from the snow. Words shown plainly engraved on the top, mysteriously untouched by the thick snow surrounding it. Belle shivered, but was instantly drawn to it.
"I said, come along. We're wasting precious time." He yanked a little too hard on her wrist, but Belle only winced slightly and tugged back. "No, please. I want to have a look!" Rumplestiltskin's temper began to flare while she struggled against him, but in the end he just shoved her off.
He huffed, oddly uncomfortable. "Go on if you must, dearie. You won't like what you find...if it even exists." If it was just anybody wanting to enter there to face it he wouldn't have stopped them. But this was Belle, and he didn't want to admit the tight, strong worry inside him from her blasted adventurous side.
Of course, he knew very well it existed. He had only seen it once in his life, many years ago before this very village was even built. It was much larger than any normal troll, uglier too, and preferred thickets of trees rather than bridges. He had at one point wanted to discover more of the creature but never got the chance. For the entrance always moved every winter, always in these mountains but more harder to find as time went on. He had lost interest in it long ago.
Now, he watched as Belle frowned at him, hurt by his crossness as she took cautious steps to the engraved stone, eyes flicking between that and the eerie path next to it. The dead frosted leaves shifted under her feet, as if trying to pull her in and capture her. When she reached the stone the words seemed to dance atop the surface, shining in gold contrasted with the silver. She then began to read aloud:
"Only the brave may enter here
or those in which flows the serum
of true love's touch."
That was strange. What kind of a troll was this? Shouldn't the sign have said "Beware" or mention something about death? Could this truly be the entrance?
Rumplestiltskin sneered behind her. "There, you've read it. Not as exciting as you thought, eh?"
Belle shrugged, stepping away from the stone and on the beginning of the path. "Do you think something's really in there?"
"Only if you want to get yourself killed," he snarked, walking up closely behind her. His fingers curled around both of her arms and squeezed. He did not know what made him move so closely to her, did not want to think on it either. He could feel the magic surrounding the place strong. "Do you really want to take that chance?" he sang, each word more annunciated than the last. Belle's head shifted to the left slightly, exhaling deeply but staying still. "Would you protect me if anything happened?" she dared ask then, her words whimsy.
Before he had a chance to reply, a low, deep growl came from behind them. The snow crunched heavily beneath monstrous feet as a snow white being stood several feet above them, claws like sharpened icicles. A grey mist circled around the pair and Belle had never seen Rumplestiltskin move so fast. She soon stood behind him, one of his arms keeping her there while he faced what could only be the winter troll. It was a sight to behold, a monster bigger than a bear, with the only hair being on its flat, scrunched up head. When it opened its mouth the sound was a deafening scream, like ice breaking into pieces. She closed her eyes and buried her face into Rumplestiltskin's back.
She heard him muttering a long strain of incantations, trying to lure the troll away from them. But it only crept closer, unaffected by anything he said. Rumplestiltskin stared in amazement and frustration as the troll swiped a hand in the air, as if cutting the smoke from the Imp's spells in half. Growling once more, it began advancing quickly on them both. But no matter how many times Rumplestiltskin waved a hand to perform a spell, nothing happened at all. It was as if his magic dissolved.
Then, Rumplestiltskin did the only other thing he could think of, he turned and ran down the rocky path, grasping Belle's wrist tightly. She tried her best not to trip on herself, not even daring to look back to the troll who gave chase. Her voice caught in her throat but she dare not sob from fright as they ran and ran. The imp soon veered off the path, heading into the snowy trees. Not knowing this part of the forest so close to the troll's home, they blindly trudged forward for what felt like an hour, adrenaline pulsing.
When at last he could not hear for the troll's footsteps behind them, he slowed, bending over in exhaustion while Belle nursed her bruised wrist and tried her best to brush her skirt off. They had somehow found themselves near a frozen creek. One way it wound to the south, into deeper woods, but to the north it flowed along the mountain pass where the frozen trees thinned out. They were completely alone.
"I think we lost him," Belle panted by his side, leaning on him for support. She was terribly winded from running.
"I'm not so sure..." Rumplestiltskin replied, leading her along the creek northward towards the mountain pass. Weariness took him quickly and he shook in disbelief.
"Why didn't your magic work back there? It looked like it..."
"My magic is temporarily immobilized, but not gone," he interrupted. "That must be one of the troll's abilities. If it hadn't been I would've handled the beast already."
Belle tried to keep her voice level. "Where shall we go? Do you know where we are? Oh Rumple, I'm sorry."
Rumplestiltskin quieted, thinking. They had run too far into the forest to ever think about trying to walk back without being spotted by the troll. Their only choice was the follow the creek and hope to find shelter until he was able to use his magic to get them out. Without answering her, he walked northward, expecting her to follow.
Apparently luck was on their side. They needn't walk very far before Belle spotted a small cave up ahead. It was dusty, but the walls and cave floor were smooth and deserted aside from tree debris blown in from the wind. This would have to do for now, and hopefully it wouldn't last for long. They were unable to build a fire, and if Rumplestiltskin's magic didn't return soon, they could be stranded for hours.
"What do you suppose we do now?" Belle asked quietly, shivering from the damp, cool air of the cave. It didn't look at all bad. She even spotted a few cave drawings on the ceiling and a large bundle of leaves that could have been used to sleep on.
"Isn't it obvious, dearie? We're going to wait until my magic returns. Then we'll leave. I can transport both of us back to the castle in an instant." Rumplestiltskin answered, although the sing-song quality of his voice was flatter than normal, almost irritating in fashion. Nonetheless, Belle shrugging and settling herself along the cave wall, her skirts a bit dirtied from their narrow escape.
Silence soon filled the cave as both were lost in their own thoughts on the unfurling of events. The only real sound came from the wind and breaking of the tree branches as they buckled from the weight of ice. It was also beginning to snow thickly, a sign of a storm possibly approaching. Rumplestiltskin hated feeling so useless, as it often forced his mind back to memories of days long ago filled with desperation and grief, back to his days as a coward. He paced for a while near the opposite wall, once again caught up in his thoughts to hear Belle's sweet voice call out again.
"At least we still have our pie," she mused quietly, attempting to giggle despite their misfortune. She delicately unwrapped it from her sack a merchant gave her, admiring its smooth crusted surface and tiny blackberries peeking out from the cracks.
"Yes, at least we're not going to starve while we rot here in this cave," Rumplestiltskin snapped suddenly, bracing both of his palms along the cave wall and being still for a moment.
Belle frowned and felt a rush of fury. "You could have told me what would happen if I went near the stone!" she shot back, clearly displeased, her arms coming to cross in front of her.
Rumplestiltskin laughed joylessly, mockingly and swirled around in his frivolous fashion, taking a few steps towards her and shouting, "Anyone with sense would know to stay away! Your curiosity will kill you one day, girl."
Surprisingly, her face changed from fury to a thoughtful gaze, and Belle chuckled.
"And just what is so funny about this?" He was beginning to tire of Belle's games and strange calm at being trapped inside a bloody mountain.
"Oh, nothing. It's just..." Belle hesitated slightly before going on, "when I was little, my father told me that "curiosity killed the cat". I was always getting into trouble for being so curious." She then looked down, ashamed. "I'm truly sorry, Rumple..."
The imp made a frustrating noise, balling his hands into fists before glaring at her. This one was a proper stare as steel met calm remorse. But then he found he could not move, as if he were struck just by her eyes. That somehow made him angrier.
He said nothing when he finally situated beside her against the wall, keeping a fair distance between them. He sniffed in discomfort, not used to having to accommodate things such as numb limbs and stiff muscles without magic. Trying to ignore the old, painful twinge in his ankle was difficult, and he winced while trying to cross his legs, giving up. It was a wonder he was able to run with it earlier.
A whole hour passed by in complete silence, neither one looking at the other. The tension was so high he thought the damp air would fill his lungs and suffocate him. Then he turned at her humming to a ridiculous sight. Belle had the pie in her hand, admiring it. Then, not having any spoon or knife to cut it with, she used her fingers to pry a piece away, not in the least bit minding the crust that fell on her dress or the blackberry sauce running down her fingers and dripping on the stone floor.
"Are you hungry?" she asked kindly, giving him a soft smile and gesturing for him to take the piece. "It's still good," she insisted. Blinking, Rumplestiltskin stared, almost gawking at the piece, disfigured and dripping between her fingers. He was quite hungry, not having had any treats from the festival in hopes Belle would get tired and want to leave.
He was about to shoo her hand away in distaste before his stomach betrayed him. The growl was loud and annoying, and as Belle began to giggle again he tried silencing her with a vicious stare that, of course, did not work at all on her. She did not move her hand away, waiting anxiously for his response. The blackberry sauce still looked warm and inviting, mingling with the flaky, golden brown crust. His eyes moved from the pie to her stained wrists, absurdly wondering what it would be like to run his tongue along to taste it.
Horrified and startled at the thought, he pushed it away and finally reached out to grasp the pie from her fingers, holding it awkwardly in both hands and away from his leathers and silks. "I'll eat," he relented, "but if any of this sauce gets on more than my hands I'm doubling your wash loads."
The whole ordeal ended up messy for the both of them. Blackberries stained mouths and chins and crust stuck to corners of mouths. But each of them found comfort in the good food, and the snow falling outside seemed to create an almost tranquil scene.
"Thank you for saving me, Rumple," Belle said, finishing up her piece and having to wipe her hands on the cloth merchant bag.
Rumplestiltskin froze, looking away and not knowing what to say. He wasn't used to others thanking him in such a way. Straightening up, he gave her a look.
"Well what use would I have of a dead housekeeper, hm?"
The quip made Belle feel better and she smiled yet again.
"What are you smiling at?" He asked suspiciously, pointing one of his clawed fingers at her. Belle looked to the snow falling outside, and her cheeks began to flush.
"Oh, nothing it's just...I'm glad you let me come to the festival."
"Hmm...You better have enjoyed yourself because this may well be the last."
And then, for the second time in her life, Belle moved closer and wrapped her dirty hands around his neck in a hug. Rumplestiltskin didn't move, couldn't move. Her touch still shocked him greatly, saddened him greatly. He chose to awkwardly pat her head after a while before pushing her gently away. He almost grinned lopsidedly as she yawned and tucked her traveling cloak tighter around her figure, closing her eyes.
When she opened them again she was no longer in the cave far away from the castle, but in her library bedroom, warmed by an invisible hearth and the possibility of more adventures to come.