Hey everybody! So this was a fun idea that came to me. However, in this story there is no curse and they are just regular Storybrooke folk. Before I forget, just a warning, there will be smut in later chapters (sorry I just couldn't resist). I will continue to update as much as I can. And as always, unfortunately I do not own Once Upon a Time.. or else there would be way more rumbelle sexy times. Enjoy!
Chapter One: Only the Beginning
There was a strong smell of smoke, and a new fear fueled Belle. She raced ahead, unmindful of the other men who lagged behind her, trying to keep up. Her legs were numb, unused to this speed, and her lungs felt as though they were scorched from the intolerable burn. She forbade herself to think that it was too late and focused all of her strength on running towards the library.
Her heart pounded heavily to the beat of her feet which raced over the hard cement ground. Sweat beaded the top of her forehead, causing loose strands of her dark auburn hair to cling to it. Her throat continued to ache for air, while she felt her muscles stretch, pushing harder with every stride she took.
The warehouse had gone up in flames, and black smoke plagued the once blue skies of Storybrooke. Blurred images of what had gone down there were scarred in her brain, replaying over and over again in the depth of her mind.
Belle found herself shaking her head while she ran, somehow expecting that it would help her to get rid of the painful memory, the one she wanted so desperately to forget. However, Belle French didn't just want to rid her mind of one single memory, she wanted to forget everything.
The beauty turned her neck for a brief moment, allowing her to realize she was alone now. No longer were sounds of footsteps trailing behind her, now the only paces of footsteps in the quiet deserted park belonged to her.
The other men that once trailed behind her must have ran a different way, straying from following her into such a public place. If they had any intelligence whatsoever they would pack their suitcases and leave the town at once, Belle noted to herself. There were more threats in the small town of Storybrooke than anyone could of ever imagined.
Then just like that, thoughts rushed to her brain, searching back for any memories of the last year but Belle refused. She couldn't think of him, he had left her, abandoned her, and worst of all, he was gone forever.
Belle felt a single raindrop fall onto her nose, blending in with the stray tears that had formed in the corners of her eyes. She took a deep shaky breath in, taking her sleeve and wiping her eyes. Over the tall trees and rows of houses, Belle could spot the prominent clock tower. She was near at the library, where her apartment resided comfortably above it.
Without thinking, Belle made her way into town, ignoring anyone who dared to stop and ask her what was wrong. She couldn't face these people, not yet anyway, not after what had just happened.
The beauty stumbled into the base of the clock tower and up to her apartment. Fumbling for her keys which lay hidden in the depths of her pocket, Belle placed the one single golden key into her door and was shocked to already find the door unlocked. Her lungs began to burn again, panic taking over her entire insides. She could feel her heart pounding right through her chest, had someone broken in? Had the sheriff come to ask her questions? Then facing her fears and all the endless wanderings of possibilities, Belle forced the door open, using all her strength to not be frightened.
She stood in the entryway of the apartment for a few brief moments, allowing her hand to slide down to her boot to retrieve the small handgun that resided there. Her eyes took care in scanning her home, she examined the countertops and cushions on the couch, making sure that everything was just as she left it.
"Hello?" She heard the sound of her own voice loud and clear, and though she did her best to sound confident, she could even tell that she was afraid. Swallowing the large lump that had formed in her throat, Belle took a few paces forward and froze when she heard a crash coming from down the hallway. She raised the gun up at arms length, pointing it towards the direction of the strange noises.
"I'm not afraid of you" Belle called out sheepishly once more, slowly making her way down the narrow dark hallway. Then to her horror, she witnesses a shadow emerging from the bathroom.
"Well I hope not" the deep voice replied, "we've been friends since grade school" the familiar sound of her friend Robin Hoodfurd standing in front of her.
"Belle, what the hell?" His eyes opened wide when he saw the gun. "Where on earth have you been? And what are you doing with that" he gestured towards the weapon that was still pointed at him.
"Oh" was all she could say, placing the gun onto the counter and suddenly found herself in Robin's arms. "I've been so worried about you" he nearly growled. Belle remained silent, plagued by her own thoughts that she found it difficult to speak. She didn't care where Robin had come from, it was like he knew she was in trouble, all she knew is that she needed him right now.
"I've been waiting here for four hours waiting for you" He spoke calmly, concerned for his friend.
"I -I" Belle started to choke on her own words, barely able to catch her own exhausted breath. "I think I'm in trouble, Robin, and a lot of trouble at that."
"Trouble? What kind of trouble could you of gotten into?" he refused to believe what he was hearing. This was Belle French, one of his best friends since childhood, a simple good hearted librarian and model citizen of Storybrooke. Everybody loved and trusted Belle, she had heart of gold, and she was certainly not capable of trouble.. was she?
"There was an explosion at the warehouse" She breathed, pulling stray strands of her curls out of her face and tucking them behind her ears.
"Wait, slow down" Robin insisted, grabbing a hold of her tense shoulders. "You didn't cause it did you?"
She felt her whole body tense up at his question, and no longer could she control her sobs and tears. Belle turned around to avoid facing her friend.
"No" she stated lowly, placing her hands on her hips, resentfully, still trying to hold onto some self control over her shattered emotions.
I didn't cause the explosion but I wish I had, I wish I had lit the match that caused the entire building to go up in flames, Belle thought. Maybe if I had lit it sooner he wouldn't of left me.
Continuing to space herself from Robin, Belle walked over to the sink, kicking off her boots in the process, then turning the facet on. She cupped the cold water in her dirty hands and splashing it on her face as if this were all a bad dream. He walked over and pulled her in from of him so that he could face her.
"Oh no" he pleaded, shaking his head, understanding what was happening. He had warned her before that this would happen. It all finally made sense, the explosion, her tears, it had all happened because of him. Belle had worked for him for nearly a year, it was only a matter of time before something like this happened.
"I told you this would happen if you got involved with this life Belle- involved with him." Robin sounded like he was about to scold the beauty, but Belle had no recognition for what he had to say. Her breathing remained hesitant and shallow, her once porcelain face covered in a black thick fiery ash.
"Robin" she stuttered out the words, on the verge of crying. "He's gone"
"You have to tell me what happened" He asked worriedly, holding her shoulders firmly, gazing into her blank ghostly stare.
"He- he left me" she stuttered, "he left me to take the fall for- everything" she continued to stutter out her cluttered sentence, through her short staggered sobs. It was clear to him that Belle was in shock, whatever had happened in the warehouse had really messed with her mind.
"He chose his power over me, he left me to die in that warehouse" she whispered, her gently shaken voice nearly sounding like a low sob choking up in her throat. Then Robin's eyes opened a little wider when he finally understood who the Beauty was talking about.
"He was nothing but trouble from the beginning; I knew he would hurt you like this" Her expression remained the same, the same confused bewildered expression that he had yet to solve.
"He loved me" she spoke then with a softer and quieter voice she muttered "or at least-" Belle paused for a brief moment, swallowing a lump in her tight throat "At least I thought he did-"
"Oh Belle" Robin pulled her close into a tight embrace, providing her with comfort and security, attempting to calm her down "A man like that is incapable of love." He added, rubbing her back tenderly, doing is best to provide comfort for her.
Maybe Robin was right, a man like Robert Gold was only out for himself, perhaps all along she had just been a silly pawn in his chess game. But it didn't matter now, he was gone, and he was never coming back.
She felt stupid and absolutely humiliated, but worst of all, she missed him terribly. Before this life she had taken with him, she was a simple librarian, a role model citizen even; never daring to yearn for adventure for any place out of her cozy apartment, and now, she was a wanted criminal, abandoned and utterly alone.
How did I end up here? She asked herself as she sat down on the bed, grabbing her pillow and tucking it firmly against her chest, hoping it would ease the pain. But she was wrong, there deep in her heart was a hole, one she might not ever be able to fill ever again.
One year ago...
Moe French's funeral had been small and quiet. Belle's father was a well liked man, a good father, a good friend, and it showed by the numerous amount of people that surrounded the spacious Church of his small service.
Belle stared at herself in the mirror for nearly ten minutes. She had been too small to remember what it was like for her mother's funeral, she would now have to go out and greet all of the guests. Taking a deep breath in, the beauty brushed down her black laced dress and pinched her cheeks to make herself look adequate for the part of the sad, grieving daughter.
White roses and beautiful decorative flowers plagued the room, as did the bitter sound of silence as everyone saw Belle walk in. She instantly realized that they were all most certainly talking about her. She gave a shy uncomfortable smile to those watching her, recognizing some of the towns citizens such as Archie Hopper, Leroy and Granny. They all watched her solemnly as if she were expected to do some kind of trick or entertain them in some way.
Across the church she spotted her ex-boyfriend Gaston LaRoux, dressed neatly in a black tuxedo, his beady green eyes fixated on her. She let out another shaky breath, the last thing she wanted to do was face all of these people, these distant relatives and townsfolk she barely knew.
"How you holding up?" Robin's voice sounded from behind her, making Belle feel a sense relief. He always had a way to make her feel better, feel comfortable and feel not so alone.
"I thought I could do this, I thought I would be able to handle this-" she started, letting out a rather devastated sigh.
"It's only been a couple weeks" Robin tried to soothe her, "It will get better with time" He reached out and grabbed her hand and squeezed it. Belle smiled and gazed up at Robin, allowing herself to turn back around to face everyone else in the room.
That's when she saw him.
He was sitting there with his legs stretched out in front of him, supported by his gold cane which was leaning on his palms.
A swatch of sunlight shined through the dark stained windows of the church, catching streaks in his brown hair. Belle watched as other people approached him, carefully watching their step around such a powerful man. He was not a large man, but it didn't take away from his appearance, dark clothes, intimidating presence; but there were little things too that Belle noticed, like his dark eyes, the color of a sheer caramel brown, and the fact he wore two identical rings- each flat, wide and gold- he wore on the middle finger of each hand.
In her absent state of mind, she realized he was staring back at her. She looked away, fast, with this realization, quickening her pace as she attempted to bolt for a group of people to pretend to be indulged in conversation.
"Miss French" he called, his accented words sinking her down like an anchor heavily chained to her leg.
This was the man, the man everyone was afraid of, the one who also owned more than half the town of Storybrooke. He was dangerous, a man not to be crossed, a man not to be trifled with. She felt her body tense as he got up and made his way towards her. Before Gold had the chance to notice, Belle swallowed the lump of saliva in her mouth and shifted uncomfortably, childishly fiddling with her red painted fingernails.
"I just wanted to give you my condolences, Miss French" Mr. Gold spoke. Her heart nearly stopped to see such a man standing only inches from her face. "I'm sure your father will be missed" She did her best to avert his eyes from his direction .
The whole town of Storybrooke knew that Mr. Gold was a dreadful man and it was quite obvious that he was much more than an ordinary pawn shop owner. There were rumors that he ran a powerful unmatched criminal organization, rumors that over and over again were proved to be true, Mr. Gold was a crime lord.
Whenever someone seemed to get hurt or mysteriously disappear they knew it was his doing, but the complete lack of evidence and proof kept him out of jail. He was powerful- perhaps too powerful for his own good, but what on earth was he doing here?
"I don't mean to be rude Mr. Gold, but why are you here? You and my father were never friends." She managed to speak out, then under her breath she muttered "he hated you actually-" her voice trailed off in a defensive snarl.
To her surprise he let out a light chuckle at her hostility. "Well, miss French, it would seem that his death has me in a bit of a... predicament" he spoke, his thick charming accent disguised the darkness in his voice.
Belle narrowed her blue gaze at him, "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean"
"You see, your father borrowed some money from me a while back that he never paid back, and as you know, I always collect debts" he clarified, his tone remaining calm and collected, unlike Belle's, who remained uneasy.
"Fine" the Beauty growled, irritated, "I'll pay it back, just tell me how much" she was already rummaging through her black small chain purse, searching for her wallet. At Belle's actions, Mr. Gold gave a slight laugh of amusement.
"Dearie, I'm afraid that the kind of money he borrowed will not be found at the bottom of your change purse"
"Well, how much did he owe you?" She continued to dig through her collection of recycled receipts, old gum wrappers and sticks of old lip balm.
Finally, she anxiously pulled out her black leather wallet and picked up her coffee and took a long much needed sip.
"Your father owed me fifty thousand dollars" He explained, causing Belle's stomach to harshly drop, as did her wallet. She felt the coffee enter her windpipe as she battled for air, coughing violently from the coffee she nearly just spat out of her mouth.
"I don't have that kind of money" she stated simply, while Mr. Gold raised his brow, a hidden smug expression disguised behind his eyes. "We'll just have to work something out then, don't we?" He paused, "What about that pretty little library of yours?"
Then something in Belle snapped. Over the past week she had been bombarded with opinions of relatives shoved down her throat, the financial decisions of her own life, and had to deal with the fact that her father, her only relative she is close with, died. A bold surge of anger swelled up inside her as she finally stood up to the beast that Mr. Gold was.
"How dare you" she spat, completely clouded by her blind rage, annoyed that he had the nerve to come to her on such a sacred and respectable occasion.
"What did you just say?" He asked, startled that she had just spoken back to him.
"You have no right to barge in on my father's funeral and tell me what to do, nobody decides my fate but me" she hissed back at him. Her hostile words caught him a little off guard, nobody ever dared to talk back to him like that, especially not a five foot-two librarian.
"You may bully everyone else in this town, but you will not bully me, Mr. Gold, at least not today." Her hisses almost making him flinch.
"Well unless you want to spend time in jail-"
"You can't do that!" She nearly yelled, cutting him off mid-sentence, drawing glances and looks from nearby people, who had stopped their own conversations to listen in on theirs. "You're threat doesn't even make sense, you cannot hold me hostage for my father's crimes, it's against the law"
"Oh but I can, Miss French, I've got connections in this town that you could only begin to comprehend-"
"You're despicable"
"And you're in over your head in debt" he shot back, his stern voice nearly causing Belle to cry. "It's too bad your father kept such a secret from his poor daughter" he spoke, then suddenly adjusting his position when he noticed that the blue eyed beauty had started to cry.
Belle herself had felt the tears start to form in the corners of her eyes, and as much as she resented them, she knew it was only a matter of time before her courage and strength would ware off.
"What exactly do you want from me, Mr. Gold?" the true nature of her softness came through in that one simple sentence, which Mr. Gold couldn't help himself but pity.
"Report to me this Saturday, come by the pawn shop and I can see what I can do."
Before she had the chance to speak or even protest his command, Mr. Gold was gone, leaving nothing behind but confusion and uncertainty. Belle watched as everyone else in the room, quickly turned back to one another, pretending that they had not been listening to that very personal conversation.
"What was that all about?" Robin cam up behind Belle, "why was Mr. Gold here?" He questioned, worriedly.
"It was nothing" the beauty swallowed, attempting to hide her tears and putting on a fake smile, hoping she would forget all about the threats that Gold had just made to her. However, as much as Belle wished that this was the end of it, she knew Gold would not let this go so lightly- deep down in her gut she knew his threats were only the beginning.
Hey guys, so as you can see, this story will be back and forth between past and present, eventually leading up to the events that happened at the warehouse. I hope its not too confusing! Anyway I really like the way that I've mapped this story out so far and look forward to continuing it.
Next Chapter: Belle gets a proposition from Mr. Gold regarding her debt and in the present, seeing that Belle has been getting sick, Robin encourages her to go see a doctor, and they are both shocked at what they find out.
Thanks for reading! Please leave a review and let me know what you think!