A series of stories written for Rumbelle Showdown 2014 on tumblr under the name April Eagle. My tumblr account is mirime-kisarrastine. There are four stories up so far, then I was voted out. The first one is unchanged, the following three will be expanded from the original versions since there was a word limit to adhere to. And there will be new chapters, too. Each story for the showdown had three prompts that had to be included in some way. The first three prompts were: Urgent magic interruption, Truth or consequences, Say something. Enjoy.
It didn't take Belle long after her first few weeks in the Dark Castle to fall into a routine. The division of chores ensured that she was never truly overworked, her cooking improved by leaps and bounds and the library provided well-deserved distraction in the evenings.
And while the castle hid many marvelous and mysterious things, the most interesting one was Rumplestiltskin himself. Belle still found it incredible that the same man who had locked her up in the dungeon and dismissed her homesickness in the beginning was the same person that had been increasingly seeking out her company for idle conversation these days.
She came to enjoy their little chats immensely. His wit, seemingly abrasive at first, made her laugh often and she treasured those little moments. Forever was less daunting with the promise of laughter and companionship.
The only stain at this satisfying arrangement were the frequent interruptions from his magic. She almost resented the times when someone called for Rumplestiltskin with an urgency that would prompt him to leave at once, in the middle of their talk.
While Belle wouldn't begrudge other people the help he could provide, she still despaired when he came back gloating about outwitting yet another person who had asked for his assistance without first inquiring about all the details. However, hearing him talk about some of his deals was for the longest time the only way she was involved.
Then one day, after yet another call from someone, Rumplestiltskin came back with a peculiar expression on his face.
"How did it go?" she asked, thinking that no accord had been reached and he sulked about the waste of his time.
"You were raised a Lady, dearie, is that right?"
Confused by his question, Belle simply nodded.
"Good, good," he spoke as he paced around the table, obviously agitated. "You were taught to dance and dine and talk? To make a good impression on nobles and royals?" he asked as he stopped abruptly before her, looking her up and down.
"Yes?" she half-asked, still uncertain of where the questions were coming from.
"How would you like to be a tutor in those things for someone?"
"Someone?"
She wasn't about to agree to something without knowing the details.
"There is a king in need of an heir. There is a young man fit to be that heir. Alas, he's been raised a poor shepherd. Not exactly a prince material. You will teach him all he needs to know to pull off the charade, the king gets what he wants, the boy gets a life in luxury and everyone is happy."
"Even you?" she asked and Rumplestiltskin giggled.
"Especially me, dearie. You should know by now I don't do things out of a goodness of my heart."
He seemed almost offended at the thought and Belle wasn't about to argue the point. She was quite certain, for example, that a lot of things he had done for her were done out of that disputed goodness of his heart. That wasn't a truth he would want to admit, though. The consequences of her pressing him, well, she would content herself with the fact that she knew it. There might be a time later on when he would be more willing to admit that he did do things sometimes just to be nice.
"And what will I get out of this arrangement?" she asked instead. It wasn't an unreasonable question. Her contract with him was fairly detailed and she was sure teaching shepherds how to behave like princes was nowhere on the list.
The exaggerated expression of shock on Rumplestiltskin's face reminded her of the day they had made the deal and her father had called him a beast. Even the hand-over-his-heart gesture was identical.
"My, my, we'll make a dealmaker out of you yet. Shall I worry about being put out of business?" Belle laughed at that and he grinned back. "What would you like, dearie? A day off? A new dress? A new book? Well, say something," he prompted her and she shook her head.
"I'll need some time to think it over."
"You'll do it then?"
"Yes, I'll do it," she answered, the prospect of interacting with another person very appealing. She wasn't unhappy with only Rumplestiltskin for company but she did miss other people sometimes.
"Excellent." Rumplestiltskin clapped his hands together in glee before turning serious. "Just one thing, dearie. Don't tell the boy about your position here. If he asks, you were brought here just to teach him."
"Alright, I'll tell him that," Belle said, frowning at the thought of lying without understanding the reason. "But why?"
"Young men are prone to acting without thinking," he said with a barely veiled contempt. "He might fancy himself a hero and try to rescue the damsel from the terrible beast. It would be better for everyone if he didn't try at all."
"I see," she replied. It stung her that Rumplestiltskin still thought she would break her word to him. "Good thing I never thought myself a damsel, then. Or that I don't need rescuing from you, either. I imagine an unwilling rescuee would quite ruin the experience."
His previous shock at her words had been as feigned as his current one was genuine. Belle tilted her head to the side and smiled.
"You were the one who wanted me to stay forever and I agreed. You're not getting rid of me so easily," she told him cheerfully and turned to head for the kitchen. "Shall I prepare a dinner for three?" she called out when she was at the door and she was thrilled that it took him several long seconds to find his voice.
"Yes, dear, that would be perfect."