Whispers From The Past
by Gwin Gold
Author's Note: So, this is a fanfiction featuring the children of Rumpelstiltskin and Belle. Here's a bit of explanation for the names, and why I chose them:
They have four children. Arien, Sovann, and Eira are triplets.
Arien's name means 'enchanted'. Belle and Rumpel chose his name to remind them of their magic, and the vow they took not to use it, even though Rumpel had brought it back. He found Baelfire, and then promised Belle he would never use his magic again.
Sovann's name means 'like gold'. It's probably obvious why they chose that name for him, so I'll continue on.
Eira is their only little girl. Her name means 'mercy'. Rumpel chose this one purposefully, to always remind him of the mercy and forgiveness Belle had shown him; to remind him never to make the same mistakes again.
Then they have a fourth son, just a toddler (four years old), named Dusan. His name means 'soul; spirit'. Rumpel and Belle named him that for no other reason than they liked the name and its meaning.
And there you have that. Lots of angst and fluff and stuff that all ye Rumbelle fans like-though I ought to warn you that this story focuses on the children. There'll be plenty of Rumbelle too, though (maybe not right in the beginning, but soon enough)! On with the story! :)
-X-X-X-
Chapter One
The Gold Family
*8*8*
"It's time for supper, you three! Come inside!" Belle's voice drifted out into the evening.
The drooping branches of the weeping willow tree in the back of the garden rustled wildly for a minute, and three children appeared.
"Can't we stay out here for five more minutes?" pleaded Sovann. He was the more strongly built of his siblings; not quite muscular, seeing as he was only twelve (though he would be sure to tell you that he would be thirteen in exactly two weeks and five days). He has dark, golden-brown hair that was cut to just above his shoulders and curly-just like his father's had been, once upon a time in a fairy tale land.
"Yeah, the Faerie Council hasn't ended yet!" protested Arien. "They were about to crown Eira queen!" His hair was a golden color, and people often debated on whether it would change to a brown color like his parents' as he grew older, or if it would stay blond.
"And Arien was going to be king," Eira piped up. She was slender, like Arien, with sapphire blue eyes and dark hair.
The twelve-year-old triplets were inseparable. Their favorite pastime at the moment was to act out scenes from Sovann's stories-he was an avid writer, and Mr. Gold was constantly having to buy him new notebooks.
"Tell the Faerie Council to wait for their king and queen to finish supper first." Now their father's lilting Scottish accent reached them from across the garden. "That goes for their brother as well."
"But, Da-" All three started to protest in unison.
"All right, I know when I'm beaten." They could almost imagine their father throwing up his hands in resignation. "I'll just go and tell our dinner guest that you are unable to come in right now."
"Dinner guest?" Arien repeated curiously, his blue eyes brightening.
Then Sovann, Eira, and Arien heard the back door shut. They looked at each other, and then bolted towards the house. It was just as they had suspected.
Their playful and ever mischievous father had locked them out.
"Da, come on!" Sovann complained loudly, pounding on the door with one fist. "Open the door!"
Eira, despite the fact she should be annoyed-like her brothers were-found herself giggling at her father's antics.
Just as Sovann readied himself to begin another assault on the door, it swung open, making him stumble forward. He found himself caught by the hands of...
"Bae!" the three children exclaimed. All of them lunged for their older brother, nearly knocking him over.
"All right, all right, not all at once!" Baelfire laughed. Over his shoulder, he called, "Now, Papa, you know better than to lock your children outside."
Gold smirked, leaning against the doorway that led into the dining room. Belle stood next to him, smiling. "Well, they were asking for it, Bae. They said they wanted to stay outside, and so I let them."
"The Faerie Council was making me and Arien the king and queen of their realm," Eira explained. "Look!" She held up a little crown made of long grass and buttercups woven together. Arien had a similar one in his hands, carefully woven with sprigs of holly instead of the glossy yellow flowers.
"Aren't you three getting a little old for playing game-" Gold started. He was silenced by a nudge to the ribs by Belle. "Er, never mind, dearies."
"I see. And Papa pulled you away from the ceremony?" Baelfire said, crossing his arms with a mock glare at Gold.
"Yes." Sovann nodded.
"Well, it just so happens that I am a good friend of the Faeries, and they've allowed me to do such ceremonies in the past," Baelfire replied, dark eyes glittering. "Right, so. Arien, Eira, let me have your crowns."
The two of them did so. Baelfire told them to kneel down, and they did that as well.
"I hereby declare you, Arien and Eira Gold, the rightful rulers of the Faerie Realm. We are certain that you will use your wisdom and courage to lead us and protect us. As a token of our gratitude, we present you these crowns."
With those words, Baelfire carefully set the two crowns upon his younger siblings' heads. "You may rise, Your Majesties."
With identically bright grins on their faces, Eira and Arian stood up. Baelfire and Sovann bowed low.
Following along, Mr. Gold bowed as well, while Belle gave a delicate curtsy. After a moment, all four of them straightened up.
"Well, now that you've finished with the ceremony, why don't we go and eat supper before it gets cold?" Belle inquired cheerfully, tucking a stray lock of chestnut hair behind her ear.
There were enthusiastic agreements, now that the children were satisfied. As they went into the kitchen, Sovann said to Baelfire, "You know, that ceremony you held was better than the one in my novel. Do you mind if I use it?" To which Baelfire told him to go right ahead.
All of them sat down at the table, except for Belle. "Dusan is in his room, playing. I'll go get him." She left.
"So, Bae, how is college treating you?" asked Gold, spreading a cloth napkin in his lap.
"Fairly well." Baelfire took a bite of his lasagna. "After this next semester, I should be able to graduate."
Baelfire was studying psychology, among other things, in college. His goal was to be a children's therapist; not unlike Archie, though he was only going to focus on children and teenagers.
"Wonderful!" Gold exclaimed, his pride clear in his voice. "You're going to go so far, Bae. So much farther than I ever could."
"Now, Papa, that's not true. Look at your life now; you've got a beautiful wife, four great kids, and a nice house..." Baelfire gave his father a warm smile. "You've done good for yourself."
Belle returned to the kitchen just then, a fair-haired little boy in her arms. "Dusan, say hello to your brother Bae," she encouraged, setting him down.
The toddler hesitated, wavering slightly, before tottering over to Baelfire. "Bae!" he piped, tripping just as he reached the table. Luckily, he fell against Baelfire's leg.
"Hey there, Dusan." Baelfire chuckled, lifting the little boy up to sit on his lap. "And what have you been up to?"
"Playin'," Dusan replied. A look of comical seriousness appeared on his face, making Gold fight back a grin.
Baelfire let out a gasp. "Really? Well, that's important, isn't it? After you finish supper, you can go play some more."
Dusan nodded vigorously, nearly falling off of Baelfire's lap in the process. Baelfire carefully set him down, and the toddler made his way over to his chair. It had several thick books on it; he refused to use a high chair.
"He's definitely adorable," Baelfire said, laughing quietly.
"Aye," Gold agreed. "Just like his mother." He leaned over and gave her a long kiss on the cheek. The three older children complained. ("Da, cut out the mushy stuff!")
After that, though, dinner went uneventfully. Belle and Gold spent most of the time talking with Baelfire. Arien, Eira, and Sovann hurried through dinner, and started for the back door.
"Ah, ah, ah," Gold called after them. "Dearies, it's too late to go back in the garden. Go take your baths, and get ready for bed."
A chorus of 'aw!'s and 'but, Da!'s filled the room. Of course, after Mr. Gold gave them a frown to show them he meant business, they scurried upstairs.
After baths were over, the triplets converged in the bedroom belonging to Sovann and Arien.
"What are we going to do tomorrow?" asked Eira, sitting on the edge of Sovann's bed and swinging her legs. She was dressed in a lavender-colored nightgown that was getting a little too short for her 5'0 frame. The buttercup crown was on her head once again.
"We have school, remember?" Sovann replied. "You've got the days mixed up again."
"Oh. I thought it was Saturday." Eira sighed. "School is boring."
"Very boring," Arien agreed. Both he and Sovann were shirtless; it was much too warm a night to wear pajamas, at least for them. He had placed his holly crown on the nightstand next to his bed.
"Well, we can do something fun after school," Sovann said. "So stop complaining. I'll think of something."
Just then, Baelfire poked his head into the room. "Hey, Eira. Time to go to your own room. Papa instructed me to put you all to bed."
"Oh, come on!" Eira protested. "He sent Eldest Brother to tuck us up? We're too old for that!"
"Yes, but you're just old enough to stay in here instead of go to bed," Baelfire countered. "So, come on."
Eira heaved a sigh and jumped off the bed. "Night, Arien. Night, 'Vann."
"G'night, Eira," Sovann replied. Arien nodded in reply. With that, Baelfire led Eira out of the room...
*8*8*
It was just past midnight when Sovann and Arien were awakened by a terrified scream.
-X-X-X-
Author's Note: Well, how'd you like it? I ended on a cliffhangar on purpose, of course. XD
And the amount of fluff my mind came up with made me sit here going, "Awww!" the whole time. Especially the whole 'crowning-of-Arien-and-Eira-as-king-and-queen' bit. And Rumpel and Belle bowing/curtseying to them. Major fluff factor.
Read and review, please! :)