Blood. Pain. There was so much pain. Someone was screaming. God, someone stop the screaming.
Belle jerked upright in bed, trying to breathe through her terror. She was in her bed, in her room, deep within the Dark Castle. She was safe. She was terrified, but she was safe.
It was just a dream. Just a nightmare. It didn't feel like a dream, though. It felt so real. She couldn't stop shaking. She didn't want to call him, but she felt she had no other choice. She couldn't keep going on like this night after night. She'd never get back to sleep, otherwise. Ever.
"Rumpel?" She always felt so awkward doing this. Just calling out to him into the thin air. "Rumpelstiltskin?" He appeared in seconds, surrounded by a cloud of dark smoke, the sconces on the walls sparking to light upon his flamboyant arrival. With a bow, he flourished his arms out before he took notice of the fact that his little maid was still in bed.
"Belle?" His voice was strange, not the typically high-pitched impy twang to it. He must've just woken up. He cleared his throat before continuing. "What's wrong? Why did you summon me?" She had a guilty look on her face, and that never boded well for him, his castle, or his magic.
"Is there any sort of protection spell that you can place on my bed?" She blurted out. Rumpelstiltskin was visibly taken aback by her request. He made an effort to keep his voice even as he answered.
"No, dearie. I'm afraid that's a cost I'm not willing to pay." Of course. 'All magic comes with a price.' The Dark One moved closer to her bed, sitting on the edge and taking her hand in his. Despite his cold response, he didn't seem upset.
"Why, Belle? Tell me what happened." He stroked his thumb lightly across the back of her hand, hoping to get her to open up to him. His little maid had been acting strangely for the last few weeks, and he wanted to know what was causing her such distress. Not because he cared, of course. Never. He was merely inquisitive as to the cause of his less than clean dining hall.
Belle didn't meet his eyes as she answered.
"I had a nightmare. It was Gaston. He was… and I couldn't…" Her voice began to break and the imp could see her holding back tears. He conjured a handkerchief. running it under her eyes as tear after tear slipped out. How he wanted to pull her into his arms.
"Belle." He spoke her name softly to the quiet room. Nudging her head up by her chin, he looked into her eyes as he answered. "I know for a fact that you're not going to like the phrasing of what I'm about to say, but pay attention to the real meaning of the words you find so offensive." He could see her visibly brace herself for what he was about to say. Never had he given her a warning before he offended her; she could only imagine where he was going with this.
"I won you, Belle. That makes you my property. And if there is one thing in this world I will always take care of, what is it?" Belle paused, remembering her trip with him to hunt down Robin Hood.
"Your things." Her answer was quieter than a whisper, but he heard her well enough.
"Exactly. You are what has to be the most highly prized treasure I have ever won in a deal, Belle, and I can assure you that you will be taken care of and protected." She looked unsure. Oh, to doubt the Dark One. She certainly had it coming.
"No matter what. You have my word. And you know I never break a deal."
At his last words, Belle noticed a dim sadness in his eyes. She knew he was remembering his son. Visibly shaking himself back to the situation with his maid, Rumpelstiltskin focused back on her eyes.
"Now. Do you feel ready to give sleep another try?" He gave her hand a pat and stood, motioning for her to lie back.
"Yes. Thank you, Rumpel." As she laid back, finding a comfortable position on her pillows, her master pulled the blankets around her shoulders, tucking her in and making sure she was warm enough. With a wave of his clawed hand, the fire was roaring, the room quickly heating back up.
"You're more than welcome, dearie. Now get some sleep. The castle won't clean itself tomorrow, now will it?" Belle couldn't help but smile at his quip, despite her eyes getting heavy with sleep. His voice was always so soothing.
"No, I suppose not." They both laughed, and looked away blushing when they noticed they were both smiling.
"Goodnight Belle. Sweet dreams." His hand brushed a stray strand of her hair back before he turned to leave. One final touch wouldn't hurt him, after all, would it?
"Goodnight Rumpel. I'll see you in the morning." He better had. It was the best part of his day.
As he reached for the door handle, feeling the need to take the long way back to his room, he turned for one last glance at the beautiful woman lying in his castle.
"You can count on that, dearie. You can count on that."