Twin-Hearts

Chapter One

I Hear You

The first time Belle French ever saw Rumford Gold she knew, without a doubt that she was in love.

It had surprised her, she never thought that "Love at First Sight" could actually happen. Lust at first sight, maybe. Feeling an instant kinship with someone, sure. But Love? She just couldn't believe it, but the evidence to the contrary was blatantly obvious. For a few moments after it happened, she tried to tell herself that it wasn't love that it was just an infatuation. But in her heart, she knew, from the tips of her toes to the crown of her head that it was Love. And not just love, no, it was True Love.

Belle had always thought herself to be a sensible girl. She was an only child with a loving father and a childhood just like any other. She was bright, if a bit nerdy, but she had never lacked for friends. She was kind and understanding, with a good heart and a good head on her shoulders. She wasn't even that much of a romantic. Sure she had her fantasies, but overall she hadn't much cared for romance. The only reason she was even dating was because it had seemed like the right thing to do for a girl her age.

And yet there she was, completely, head over heels in love with the wrong man. In every sense of the word.

Her day had been rather nice up until that point. She had been able to sleep in, thanks to her quick thinking when she had picked her classes. She was a freshman in college, taking her first steps into the world and nothing could have felt more liberating. She had lounged in bed for a good hour before getting dressed (her roommate Ruby having already gone to her first class), and packing up her book bag for her second day of classes. Yesterday she had started her English, and Philosophy class, today it was her first day of History and (sadly) Math. She had put on her favorite blouse with a pair of her "Comfy" jeans, and her overly huge blue sweater.

She had locked the dorm room behind her, and headed out for the school coffee shop, wanting to grab a quick cup of coffee before her first class. The shop had been bursting with people, but Belle had been able to get her drink in a timely fashion. She had taken her drink out to one of the benches on campus, and just watched the world go by for a while.

She went to Math class, was bored almost to tears, had lunch with Ruby, met a few of her friends. She had talked, texted her boyfriend on her cell phone, checked out the Library. In summary, a perfectly average and normal day.

Until Him.

She had been on her way across campus for another cup of coffee. The wind had picked up, and she had been temporarily blinded by her hair in her face. And then all of a sudden, when at last she was able to see, there he was.

And she would never be the same again.

He was walking alone, across the campus, a scowl on his face. He was an older man, about in his mid forties with longer than fashionable brown hair with threads of silver running through it. His eyes were dark and unreachable, his face lined with years of pain. He was immaculately dressed, with a dark three piece suit that looked like it cost more than her father's apartment. A purple tie lay over a crisp white shirt with a handkerchief that matched in the pocket of his vest. He wore a cashmere coat, black shoes polished to a shine, and he walked with a gold handled cane with a raven motif set into the handle.

He looked like the devil himself. A man who hated the world, and the world hated him back. And for some sick reason, he enjoyed it.

And that was it. Belle was completely, totally, and unreservedly in love with him. She didn't know his name, who he was, or anything about him. She didn't need to. It was as though a flood of emotion had filled her up, concentrating in her heart. Longing filled her so full that she almost cried out. A thread of something filled her, vibrating with a song so ancient and felt so right that she could have wept with it. In fact, a tear felt down her face at the pure joy radiating within her.

She wanted to kiss his face till the frown turned into a smile. She wanted to talk to him about everything, and nothing until the dull lifeless look behind his eyes turned to an amused sparkle. She wanted to go for long walks with his hand in hers, she wanted to feed him strawberries in the grass on a warm summer day. She wanted to laugh with him, talk with him, dance with him, cry with him. She wanted everything with this man, and more.

Needless to say, she openly stared at him, a hand flying to her lips as her heart pounded wildly in her chest. But he never saw her. She was rooted to the spot, silent tears of awe falling down her face as she watched him go. She made no move to follow him after he disappeared from sight. She did not think she would ever see him again. It had been a moment of pure harmony, of peace and love, and now that moment had ended.

She still loved him. Oh how she loved him! But her sensible nature kicked in, and doubts plagued her.

Little did she know, that her destiny was firmly entwined with his. And no one can escape their destiny.

Belle told no one of her experience. She had been tempted to call Ruby, but her History class was starting soon and she didn't want to be late. So she sighed and headed towards the building where her class was, praying that whatever it was that had happened, would fade to the back of her mind.

She checked her schedule to make sure that she had the right class room, and slipped inside. It was a small lecture room, with wood paneling from the 1970's that would have any interior decorator shuddering with distaste. There were several college style desks strewn about the raised tears of flooring, enabling everyone to be able to see. At the front of the class room was a large desk for professors to use, and a long whiteboard that looked as though it had just been cleaned.

Belle was delighted to notice that not many people were in the room, a sign that she was a little bit early. She took a seat in the front row (a habit from Jr. High and High School), and pulled out a note book and a pencil. She also had her textbook on hand, but she wouldn't pull it out until she really needed it.

As people poured in over the last few minutes before class, Belle's thoughts turned back to Him. She didn't know what to make of all these feelings. It had been so sudden, and so powerful that it boggled her mind. She had never, ever thought that something like this could happen to her. She had never thought of herself as a romantic, by any stretch of the imagination. She had always believed that love was something that grew over time. That it took some effort and had to be nurtured. Apparently she had been very, very wrong. She had never had anything like this with...

'Oh god Reon!' Belle thought, mentally gasping. 'Oh god I have a boyfriend and I'm in love with a complete stranger! Could this day get any weirder?'

THUMP!

Belle jumped at the sudden sound and her eyes shot to the front of the room. There, standing behind the desk at the front of the classroom, was the man she had fallen in love with.

'Apparently it can.' Belle thought, gaping at the man in front of her.

"My name is Rumford Gold and this is History 101. I don't expect half of you to even last a quarter of the semester, because I don't coddle my students." Gold said, his voice tinted with a Scottish brogue that did strange things to Belle's insides. His eyes swept the room and the thirty or so students within, x-raying them with his dark brown eyes as though looking for fatal flaws in all of them.

Belle suddenly had a curious sensation spread over her. She suddenly felt a wave of anger, then contempt, then a sense of deep pain fill her as she looked at him.

'Bloody freshman. It's the same every semester. Doubt any of them are smart enough to pass.' Said a voice inside her head. Not just any voice too, Professor Gold's voice.

'Oh my god I'm going crazy.' Belle thought as she looked at him. She zoned out the rest of his introductory speech, inwardly freaking out over what was happening to her.

She could feel his emotions. She could tell they were his emotions and not her own, because there was a distinct personal feeling to them. They felt like him to her. She could feel his anger, his condescension, his love of history, and his dislike of anyone who didn't take it seriously. When he wasn't speaking, she could hear his voice in the back of her head saying little things like 'Jock in the third row looks like he's about to fall asleep. Arrogant prick.' or 'God, it's like no one heard a thing I said.' and even ' I wonder if I should make a grocery list.'

It was overwhelmingly personal, and Belle couldn't help but wonder if she was going crazy. It couldn't be real, people don't just hear people's thoughts and feelings.

Before she knew it, the class was over and people were packing up to leave. Belle was shaking as she was putting her notebook away, disturbed at what was happening. She could still feel it. Right now he was feeling relieved that the class was over, but underneath the surface was a constant pain that she couldn't put her finger on.

As she picked up her bag, and made to leave she looked back at him and suddenly their eyes met. For a moment, Belle was frozen by his stare. It was the first time he had truly looked at her and not just at a face in the crowd.

She could feel nothing from him except impatience. And then he looked away.

Belle left as fast as she could without looking crazy.

Weeks passed and Belle told no one. Not how she fell in love with Gold so suddenly, nor of her experience hearing his thoughts and feeling his emotions.

She never had the experience again with anyone else, except him. She couldn't hear anyone's thoughts, just his, and only when he was near her. In class it was most distracting, trying to pay attention to what he was saying, only to have his inner voice in the back of her head. It was a highly intimate experience, feeling his emotions and listening to him whenever he was near. She could feel his amusement at some of the students comments. Hear his little snide comments that nearly made her burst out laughing in the middle of class more than once.

She quickly learned that he had no tolerance for stupidity, a trait that they both shared. In many ways, she felt special to be able to know his innermost thoughts and feelings. It only made her love him even more. He was cruel, bad tempered, and very nasty when he wanted to be but he was also passionate, driven, and even poetic when he felt inclined.

But, the best moments were when his attention was on her. Whenever she answered a question correctly, at first she had felt his shock, then a feeling of almost admiration. He never showed it outwardly, but he liked her mind and thought that she was a good student. She was the highest grading student in the class, but to Belle, his feelings felt special. She never entertained the idea the he could ever like her more than that, but she held on to the way he felt about her with girlish joy.

She still thought she was crazy, but half of her hoped that it was all real.

One day things changed.

"That will be all. Don't forget that your papers are due on Monday. I shouldn't have to remind you, but I will anyway in the hope-" Belle didn't have to be able to read his thoughts to hear the snide cruelty in that word. "-that you will turn them in on time."

Belle began to pack up her things when she heard his voice in her head.

'Oh, I should probably talk to her.' It said. Before Belle could think on it, the real Professor Gold spoke.

"Miss French. May I have a word with you in my office." He asked (although it was really more of an order), giving her a cold stare.

Belle froze and looked up at him from her desk, unsure of what to do. Then, realizing that he wanted an answer, she spoke.

"Uh...sure Professor Gold." She said, scrambling with her book bag before standing, and following him out of the room quickly. As she followed him, she was amazed at how quickly he could walk with his limp. She had not expected him to be able to be so graceful. But then again, he defied all of her expectations just by existing.

She followed him through several hallways, listening to his inner monologue the entire way. Apparently his leg was killing him, but he wanted to get this (whatever this was) done and out of the way. Belle still wasn't sure if what she was hearing was real, or if it was all inside her head. But she didn't question it as she followed him into his office.

Gold's office was a small, cramped space, with barely enough room for a desk and a filing cabinet. Somehow, he had managed to cram those in, as well as two small chairs, and enough knick-knacks to start a shop with.

"Oh my god you're a hoarder." She said out loud, not even realizing she had said it. As soon as she felt Gold's feelings of half amusement, half displeasure, Belle slapped a hand over her mouth and looked at him, shock and shame written all over her face. "Oh I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

'Well people have said worse.' "Sit Miss French." He said simply, gesturing for her to take a seat as he smoothed down his tie to sit in his own chair behind the desk. Belle sat, blushing with embarrassment and with nervous energy at the idea of being alone with him.

"You're probably wondering why I asked you here." He said quietly, his eyes still cold and hard. Belle nodded biting her lip, a nervous habit she learned when she was a child. Gold's eyes never strayed from her's as he continued. "I'm planning a lecture at the Natural History Museum a month from now. It's for a more advanced class, but I would be pleased if you could attend. You're a bright student, and this would be a wonderful opportunity for you if you are interested in taking more advanced history classes in the future."

'And god it's going to be so boring if you're not there.' Belle heard after he was finished. Belle couldn't help but feel herself melting a little at the thought, even if it was all in her head.

"Oh! Of course I-I would love to go Professor Gold." Belle said, beaming at him for thinking of her.

"Excellent Miss French. It's at six thirty on the twenty third of next month. I hope to see you there. I would show you out, but my leg is...paining me rather badly at the moment." He said.

'God if she smiles any wider her face will split in half. Why doe she always smile so much?' Belle heard him think. She flinched a little but stood, gathering her bag as she went.

When she was at the door, she turned to look back at him and say something but he was obviously getting involved with something else and so she closed her mouth and left.

Little did she know, that as she left, Rumford Gold felt a sudden wave of shyness, and had no idea where it came from.