I had this idea before bed one night. I imagine that Belle would just own Regina if she saw her again, but what if it went down differently? How would Belle react?
I own nothing, only my fangirling heart.
Rumpelstiltskin kept her close. She understood this. She was comfortable with this. She knew she would always be the safest she could be with him. In the beginning, he took a few days from work to stay home with her, care for her. The mental scars were evident. Her face was white as a sheet of paper, but the dark circles under her eyes clashed with the paleness. He would lie beside her in bed and stroke her face, sometimes spoon feeding her the soup he had prepared.
She wasn't being childish. She was scared. She had been a terrified girl. The more she had realized that she had been locked away from him her entire life in this world, the more it disturbed her. She was like that for a week. One day she hopped out of bed, got dressed, and made him breakfast. He was moved by this. He had tears in his eyes as he grabbed her face and kissed her repeatedly all over. "I knew you'd rise against it, my lionheart." he said, his voice thick with emotion.
She resumed her life. She went to work with him each day by his request. She enjoyed it. She cleaned around the shop whilst chatting with him, just as she had in the Dark Castle. Soon, she had cleaned enough. She then tried to busy herself with reading, but her mind often wandered. Mostly because Rumple would dote on her when he had no customers, kissing her and holding her. It was almost as if he needed to remind himself that she was real. She enjoyed this immensely, but she also thought of the outside world.
She didn't know anyone outside. She had only heard of some of them, but none of them truly knew her. They probably judged her for loving Rumpelstiltskin, yes, but she felt that nobody would ever understand their relationship. She still wanted to get out. She didn't want them to think she was a weak little stick, withering away in bed.
"Rum?" she called from the back room of his pawn shop.
He emerged a moment later. "Yes, love?" he made his way over to her, cane clacking against the wooden floor.
"I was thinking of going for a walk, is that all right?" she felt silly asking him for permission, but didn't want to go and come back to fight with him about her safety.
"Of course. Belle, you're free to go anywhere you want. I do appreciate you telling me, though." he smiled, offering a hand to help her stand. She was doing so much better compared to when she first had escaped the prison underneath the hospital with Jefferson's help. Now, her face was bright and her smile had meaning.
"Well, the idea of you chasing me and carrying me home is rather amusing." she quipped, smirking.
"That wouldn't go so well with this." he mused, patting his bum leg. "Have fun. Make sure you stay in town. We don't know how far the boundaries of the town go in the forest." he leaned in, brushed his lips against hers.
"I'll be careful." she smiled and left. It was a nice day out. Not too warm, but not too chilly. It just felt good to breath in fresh air. Freedom. She smiled as she walked, greeting every person that passed by her. She knew none of them, but she might as well start giving herself a name.
She needed people to see that she was a good person. If they saw that, maybe they'd start to understand that Rumple wasn't the evil monster they made him out to be. Monster. She shivered at the word. She absolutely detested the word when it was anywhere near her Rumple.
He was a kind man. No matter how he looked or acted in their past life.
She gave a soft sigh, resuming her walk. She had unconsciously been walking to Rumple's, no, their house. She smiled. Maybe her mind was trying to remind her she had left something at home before heading out, but what?
She was in the middle of mentally checking what she could have forgotten when she stopped completely. It was as if a boulder had been hurled at her, catching her in the stomach. She took a step back, her brow furrowing in agony.
It was her.
The one who would stare in at her twice a week or more. Belle remembered when she was a child in this world, how she'd sob and run at the door, pounding on it and screaming to be released. "I'm not crazy! I want to go home!"
As she grew up, the screaming stopped. Belle only huddled in the corner of her bed, staring ahead with a defeated, blank expression on her face.
Regina, as most called her. The Evil Queen, as Belle saw her. She was talking to a man with coffee colored skin. She wasn't sure his name or identity. The woman hadn't spotted her though.
Fear had gripped Belle's heart. She had always imagined this differently. She'd run up to the woman and punch her as hard as she could. She'd curse and threaten her. In this scenario, Rumple was always at her side. He would protect her.
Now, she was defenseless, Regina had magic. Belle didn't.
Belle slowly turned around, quickly crossing the street. Regina would surely recognize her the next time. She had to do something. Anything that would give herself a little more protection.
She felt bile rising in her throat as she quickly opened the door to their house. Belle practically ran up the stairs to the bathroom, barely reaching it in time before she started upchucking her breakfast. She sobbed, partly from the pain of vomiting, partly from the fear nesting in her chest.
She rested on the floor of the bathroom, against the wall. She was exhausted from sobbing. Her stomach ached and her body was tired. She slowly rose to the mirror, staring at her flushed, tear stained face.
How could she protect herself without him? How? He couldn't always be there to protect her.
She looked harder. Hair. Her long, wavy, brown locks. They would always give her away.
In a frenzy of emotion, she had scissors in her hands from the medicine cabinet. She started to cut frantically, as if the faster she cut, the safer she would be from Regina.
Her dark curls fell to the floor like snowflakes.
When she was done and had drifted out of fear induced trance of cutting, she threw the scissors down in anger. Rumpelstiltskin loved her long hair. She had been selfish. She wasn't being the Belle he fell in love with. She wasn't being sensible or brave.
She was about to leave and try to figure out how to talk to him when she saw him in the doorway.
Rumple said nothing. He simply opened his arms.
She threw herself against him, sobbing once again, but harder now that someone was here to share the misery. "Oh, Rum. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I've ruined everything."
"No you haven't." he slowly pulled away once her sobs had calmed down some. "Tell me what happened. What drove you to this, Belle?" he demanded.
"I saw her...R-Regina." she stumbled along her words. "She didn't see me...but I was so scared. What if she'd recognize me?" she suddenly laughed. "I was so stupid. She'd recognize me, short hair or long. I had always thought I'd stand up to her when I saw her. I always thought I'd have a glorious moment to scream at her. In those moments, you were always at my side. Without you there, she would've killed me if I touched her."
Guilt crossed Rumpelstiltskin's face. She noticed it immediately. "No, no. What I'm saying is that I need you. I love you, Rumpelstiltskin. With you at my side, I feel brave. I'm not scared of anyone. Even she couldn't scare me. Not because you could easily kill them, but because I know you will support me no matter what."
He smiled and absently touched her hair with a hand. It hovered down below her chin. "Belle, you're safe with me, you know that. She won't touch you. I must admit though, I am a fan of the short hair. I never thought I would be, but it seems I didn't have a say." he teased.
She lightly smacked his shoulder, grinning. "Perhaps I wanted to match your hair length." she bit back.
He gave a shocked expression, mocking a wounded look. "Oh dearie, did you really just strike that low?"
"Yes. Yes, I did." she laughed at the look on her face and threw her arms around his neck, leaning in to kiss him. "Thank you."
"For what, love?" he seemed confused.
"For loving me." she leaned in to kiss him.
Rumpelstiltskin only smiled as she kissed him.
I hope this was in character and not ridden with mistakes! I read through as carefully as I could. :) Thank you for reading, dearie!
Review if you so desire!