She blew on her tea, sipping it carefully around the chip in the edge. Rumpelstiltskin called her name and despite her care, when Belle turned she caught her lip on the sharp porcelain, tearing it open. She gave a short cry of pain and nearly dropped the teacup. Rumpelstiltskin rose from his spinning wheel and approached her as she placed tentative fingers to her bleeding lip.
"Merde," she muttered as she tasted blood.
Rumpelstiltskin clucked his tongue at her. "Such language from a young lady."
Belle glared at him. "That wasn't very nice," she chided the cup and he hid a smile.
"Come now; let's see what you've done." He took her face and gently tilted it up into the light to examine the cut. "Hmm, yes indeed." Moving to one of the cabinets he began collecting a series of herbs to put on the wound that would speed healing. He set them on the table next to Belle who seemed disinclined to use the chairs.
"I really should throw it away," he mumbled, glancing down and the offending object resting next to her hip.
"Oh please, don't." Belle caught one of his hands and he blinked in surprise. "I like it, it has character."
Rumpelstiltskin stared at her strangely. "You cut yourself on it and yet you want me to not dispose of it?" He seemed not to understand her desire to keep the useless cup. "How odd."
"Just because a thing is broken doesn't make it useless," she argued. Rumpelstiltskin was struck by her words but chose not to take them to heart.
"Perhaps." He pulled his hand out from under her own and turned back to his work. Once the mixture was complete he gently applied it to the cut on the inside of Belle's lip.
"There; that should stop the bleeding and take away the pain."
Belle missed the warmth of his fingers on her cheeks when he pulled away but said nothing.
"Better?" he asked as he replaced the ingredients in the cabinet.
She smiled. "Much, thank you."
"Good, back to work with you then. The shelves are in need of dusting." He shooed her off the table and she giggled.
"Monster indeed," she teased, but she returned to her work without complaint, treasuring the memory of his kindness in her heart.