"How much for that one?"
"Oh sweetheart, you won't want that one. It's been sickly since it was born and won't be as much fun as his siblings."
Belle looked down curiously at the small creature, her eyes crinkling as she watched the persistence of the tiny thing.
"Well I think he's just charming. How much for him?"
"Three galleons. You sure you want to buy him? He won't last much longer than a couple of days at best."
"I'm positive."
The vender shook her head, taking the agreed amount from the young girl.
"You're positive you don't want to throw an extra two galleons in for one of his siblings instead?"
"Nope, this one'll do. I shouldn't even be buying him in the first place, but he just looks absolutely adorable."
Handing over the tiny hamster, the vender shot a pitiful smile towards the creature knowing it'd at least have a good home for its remaining few days.
"Look at how tiny you are, and with that cough of yours you wouldn't have survived much longer. I'm surprised you even lasted as long as you did little guy, especially with a vender like that." she said, whispering the last part.
Belle smiled to herself, satisfied with her recent purchase. She hid the small being within her cape pocket, sheltering it from the cold. She waved farewell to the vender, moving on to the next stall.
"Alright, just a few more stalls left to stop at before heading back home."
The brunette girl shifted her body weight towards the stall that was selling straw, the most important item she needed to pick up before returning.
"What shall I name you little fella? Timmothy? No...Baelfire? No, Rumple would hate that far more than the fact that I'm even bringing you home with me. Hmm…"
Belle wondered what she could name the little guy, gathering bundles of straw together in her basket to bring to the vender when she was ready to pay.
"Oh I know, what about Cogsworth? That seems like a befitting name."
Smiling to herself, Belle felt pleased with the name she chose for her new companion. The final test would be what Rumple thought of the name, let alone having the small hamster with her in the first place.
"Rumple, I'm back." Belle's voiced echoed throughout the large castle, amplifying how truly bare the entire place was with just the two of them living there, setting today's errand items on the dining room table.
Though that would soon change with Belle's new companion to keep her company when Rumple was nowhere to be found. First thing was first though, she would have to tell Rumple about little Cogsworth before she could openly parade him around.
"What took so long dearie? You should've been back earlier. I was afraid I'd have to find myself a new maid."
Belle watched as Rumple sashayed down the stairwell, his impish face seeming to attempt to hide how happy he was that Belle had returned.
"Well you'll just have to hold off on that now won't you?"
"I suppose so... Did you get what I asked for while you were out?"
"Don't I always?"
Out of the corner of her eyes, Belle noticed Rumple's brows furrowing, assuming he was taking a quick inventory, as he moved closer towards her.
"Put these away and then go - what's that in your cape pocket?"
Belle's body froze, her hands hovering above the straw pile sitting on the table. She had hoped Rumple wouldn't notice Cogsworth until she herself brought it to his attention later tonight at dinner.
"I bought myself something while I was out today."
"Let me see what it is then dearie."
She watched as his weathered hands came together under his chin as she turned to face the impish man, a gleam in his dark eyes forming. 'Do the brave thing and bravery will follow.'
The brunette calmed her nerves, standing her ground. She wouldn't let Rumple have the satisfaction of knowing she was a bit nervous about how he'd react towards her new companion. Belle knew she could convince Rumple to keep Cogsworth too; if she chose her words carefully, this could work.
"I bought this little fellow, his name is Cogsworth, and isn't he just the cutest little thing you've ever seen Rumple?" Belle produced Cogsworth from her cape pocket, delicately holding him between her hands.
"Get that thing out of here."
"Rumple I can't return him. Plus look at the poor thing, his little body is sick and he wouldn't have lasted much longer."
"That doesn't mean you had to bring it home with you. I don't want to see that thing in this castle."
"So you want me to toss poor, little Cogsworth out into the cold where he'll die on his own?"
"Precisely dearie. I don't want to hear anymore of this."
"Rumple you leave me alone in this castle for days at a time. It's already empty enough when you're here, I need a companion to keep me company while you're gone."
Rumple sighed, "I built you a library Belle, aren't there enough books to keep you occupied?"
"Yes, but sometimes I need a break from reading."
"Fine you can keep the thing. Just don't come crying to me when he's gone in a few days."
"You'll warm up to him Rumple, you'll see."
"Oh, he'll be gone before that happens dearie."
Belle smiled triumphantly while she watched Rumple huff his way over to his spinning wheel. As she watched her employer work away, Belle pet her companion on his head, her nose scrunching in delight at the small noise Cogsworth had produced.
The following day found Belle making a makeshift hammock out of spare fabric lying around the castle. Being the clever girl she was, the task was a simple one. Creating the hammock would make it far easier for carrying Cogsworth around the large castle while Belle did her chores, as opposed to constantly risk losing him by setting him down and picking him up again or wearing her cape.
"There you are Cogsworth. Your very own carrier!"
Belle held the small contraption up to Cogsworth, letting him sniff it. She couldn't help but smile as her little companion curled up into the makeshift hammock, his small breaths coming out laboriously.
"Now you can stay close to me while I clean."
The girl reached out to her small companion, her index finger running along his fur gently.
"I don't see any cleaning being done dearie. I thought this 'companion' of yours wasn't going to distract you."
Belle jolted up when she heard Rumple's voice come from behind her, her heart racing from his sudden appearance.
"R-right. I was just about to start after I made a hammock for Cogsworth."
"I could care less what you do for that creature. I care more for a clean castle to come home to after a long day."
The brunette eyed the impish man, standing her ground.
"Well, get to it then dearie."
She watched as Rumple turned his back to her and stalked off to wherever it was that he went to during the day. Belle let out a sigh of relief, picking up the hammock with Cogsworth in it and adjusted it so it would easily set against her chest.
"We should probably start cleaning then Cogsworth, don't want to ruffle the beast's fur any further." She snickered a bit at her comment, hoping that Rumple had caught the end of her snide comment.
"Who does she think she is in saying that?" Rumple muttered as he spun his straw into gold.
All day Rumple couldn't help but feel affected by his maid's comment. The remark had lingered in the back of his mind all day, distracting him from his work. 'Does she truly think me a beast?' he pondered, feeling the coarse straw pass through his scaly fingers.
It wasn't like Belle's sarcastic nature towards him was new either. She'd been the only person who could so openly poke fun at him without being afraid of whatever consequences could follow. Though Rumple wasn't going to admit anytime soon to Belle, let alone to himself, that he enjoyed that aspect of her. It made him feel as if he were still human in a way and not the grossly mis-colored shell of a person he appeared to be. That was a feeling he has long forgotten and was not going to deal with anytime soon.
"Which one should we read today Cogsworth? There's so many books in this library, I'm sure we can find a good bedtime story for you."
Rumple stopped his spinning wheel, holding the strand of straw between his bony fingers.
"Now she's reading that thing bedtime stories? Ridiculous."
Rumple had grown used to Belle's nightly reading after she cleaned up from dinner. In a way, it was Rumple's way of repaying her, he would never admit to this either, for a day's work. He would always hear her muttering to herself as she passed the spinning room on her way to the library trying to decide what to read. The impish man had grown fond of overhearing what his pretty little maid was thinking of reading that night or her excited mutterings of being able to pick up where she had last left off in a book. Except now she was talking to that thing about what she was going to read. For whatever reason, it made Rumple's skin crawl just thinking about it.
A few moments had passed after Belle walked past his spinning room, allowing Rumple to come back to his senses.
"What's so fun about reading stories to that, that glorified rodent anyways?"
Rumple stood up from his spinning wheel, dropping the straw that was between his fingers, and stretched his back out a bit. As he stretched, he thought about what it would look like while Belle read to the thing. He ultimately decided that he could get a good chuckle from the sight of Belle reading to the creature, giving him a break from his constant spinning.
As he walked down the hall towards the library, he could hear Belle's voice carry out through the doorway.
"As he made his way through the forest, Sir Jeoffry could feel himself being watched. It was a peculiar feeling he had fore he thought he was alone on his quest."
Rumple stood just outside the door, enjoying the rich, full sound of Belle's voice as she read. While he stood there, Rumple wondered why he had never asked Belle to read aloud before, let alone paid attention to how lovely her voice sounded.
"All of a sudden, the dragon appeared from behind the bushes. Sir Jeoffry pulled out his sword as quickly as he could. 'I'm not afraid of you dragon.' he said."
Oh how jealous Rumple was of that thing. He got to sit in there and listen to Belle read him exciting stories and lie against her. He quickly shook his head of the thought, thinking it ridiculous.
"Calm down Rumple, that thing will be dead soon and everything will be back to the way it was before."
Taking a deep breath, Rumple quietly stepped away from the door, inspite of wanting to hear Belle read more, to return to his spinning room to forget how jealous he was of a small creature.
Rumple was growing more annoyed as the days passed. Belle had been spending all her free time with that thing. Not that she had spent all her free time with Rumple, but at least she would always be somewhere in his company since there was no one else in the castle to talk to. Now he had to share that attention with a stupid rodent. Though Rumple would never admit that he was jealous of the creature to anyone, gods forbid that he admit that to Belle. He still had a reputation to uphold and as the gods as his witness he would keep his image of the Dark One strong. The Dark One, the most powerful sorcerer in the land, would never show jealousy. Especially towards a hamster of all creatures.
"Rumple, did you need me to clean up your spinning room today?"
Looking up from his potion ingredients laid before him, Rumple turned his attention towards the door. From there he could see Belle's head peeking through, causing him to keep a straight face.
"I think it's fine for today dearie."
"Alright, I'll start making your dinner soon then."
Rumple, with a flick of his wrist, shooed his maid away. Once the door had closed behind her, he let out a groan.
"She's probably going to play with that stupid thing before dinner now. If I find one hair in my dinner I'll close off the library tonight. That'll make her think before she handles that disease infested creature before making my food."
In his heart though, Rumple knew he wouldn't be able to actually follow through with his idea. Around Belle he was all talk. It had been awhile since the last time Belle had gotten under his skin this much, leaving him with a similar feeling. This time though, he wasn't holding a bow and arrow to a petty thief. This time it was the stupid creature he was keeping alive for her.
"Why hasn't that thing died yet? She said it was close to death but here it is still. Cogsworth this, Cogsworth that. It's like the girl can't talk about anything else."
Rumple couldn't pinpoint why he had been thinking so much about the time Belle was spending with the thing. He had far more important matters to attend to like the potion that was in front of him. He had a very important deal to make tomorrow and he couldn't let himself get distracted by his maid and her play thing.
"That thing's not even worth the money she paid for it. It's not like it's a horse or even a dog. Either one of those could have a practical use. That stupid creature's only good for lying around and being on the brink of death."
Rumple ran his fingers through his hair. All he needed to do was calm down and put all this energy towards his potion. Work always distracted him when he didn't want to think about feelings, and today's task would be no exception.
He let out a few incoherent grumbles, getting the last bit of anger out of his system, as he threw himself back into making the potion for his upcoming deal, trying to forget about his bubbling jealousy that he wasn't quite ready to admit was jealousy yet.
Belle stifled a giggle as she heard Rumple's grumbles coming from behind the door.
"Oh Cogsworth, it seems like someone's jealous of you."
A small squeak made its way out of Cogsworth's mouth as if he were responding to Belle.
She smiled down at her tiny companion, petting the top of his head lightly. The brunette girl couldn't help but feel a tiny bit of pride in how everything was beginning to play out.
When she first arrived at Rumple's castle she felt alone and helpless. As time passed though, she began to grow fond of Rumple. She knew deep down that there was still a man within that facade of a beast he pretended to be; she'd just have to figure out a way to pull the man out of him. Belle had a feeling that Cogsworth could help things along. An idea suddenly came to her.
"I think it's time you guys had some bonding time while I make dinner tonight. What do you say Cogsworth?" she said, looking down at Cogsworth.
Cogsworth burrowed deeper within the little makeshift hammock that hung around Belle's neck. The brunette took that as a yes from her companion, smiling to herself as she bounded down the stairs towards the kitchen.
Rumple sat at the dining table, watching Cogsworth's laboured breaths as Belle began cleaning up after dinner.
"The thing can't even breathe properly. You're a waste of space."
"Rumple, do I hear you being mean to Cogswroth?"
"Oh no dearie, I'm just talking to the lump of fur on the table that's been taking all your time."
"Now don't be mean Rumple, Cogsworth can't help that he's sick."
Rumple rolled his eyes as he watched Belle scratch Cogsworth's nose before picking up the small stack of plates from the table.
"And I can't help that he's been a pain in my neck."
"Rumple…"
A scoff slipped past the imp's lips as he rolled his eyes.
"I make no promises that I'll like this thing anymore than when you brought it home."
"I wouldn't expect any less from you."
He could hear the smugness in her tone that began to make his jealousy bubble. Rumple turned his attention towards the tiny creature that was left on the table, slightly surprised that Belle had left it out of her sights for the first time this week, as she washed their dinner dishes.
"What are you staring at?"
The imp glared at the small hamster, thoughts of jealousy pricking the back of his mind.
"Why'd she waste money on you anyways?"
It had been a week since Belle brought Cogsworth home, the small creature lasting far longer than Rumple could've predicted.
"What's so special about you? I could've easily put you out of your misery when she brought you home and saved myself some trouble."
Though Rumple knew the answer to his question. He could never say no to Belle, no matter how hard he tried to keep his distance and facade of being the terrible beast he was at heart. If it had been anyone else apart from Belle who had brought home a creature like Cogsworth, he would've thrown both out of the castle.
Belle wasn't like the many other servants he had prior. She knew how to get under Rumple's skin and twist him in ways that he couldn't deny her, and that frightened him.
Cogsworth turned his head towards Rumple, letting tiny whimpers to slip through his small mouth.
The pitiful noises pulled Rumple from his thoughts, directing his attention to the small creature.
He couldn't help but notice how determined Cogsworth was to push forward, indirectly reminding him of Belle. Just like Belle, Cogsworth seemed to keep clinging to hope that he could make it through.
Looking at the small creature reminded Rumple of the days when Belle had first arrived at the castle. She had seemed so timid and fragile, despite the brave front she had put up in his eyes. In those early days, Rumple pushed away thoughts of how hard it must've been for the girl to adjust from her life of comfort to that of a maid's. Afterall, he was the Dark One, the most feared sorcerer in the land, and couldn't have anyone think otherwise, especially his pretty little maid. Despite her new setting, Rumple noticed that Belle had quickly adjusted and acted as if she were a maid all her life.
Pulling himself from his thoughts, the imp focused on Cogsworth again. Rumple felt a tug at his heart, while looking at the small thing struggle, that mirrored what he felt while watching Belle when she continued to fight when there was no obvious hope that Rumple could see.
'No, you're not developing feelings for this thing. It'll die within a few days and that'll be it. No more of that thing, no one else to steal away all of Belle's attention...'
He paused in his thoughts. If the creature did die anytime soon, Belle would be devastated, he was sure of it. Even in its death, the thing would still hog her attention away. Rumple had never been good with crying women though, or people in general, and he knew for a fact Belle would cry over this stupid thing when it would die.
The thought of his pretty little maid crying pulled on his heart strings more taut than the image of the sickly creature had. He wouldn't stand for the sight of Belle crying over the death of her stupid pet, no matter how much Rumple wanted to contain his forming jealousy from her, when he could easily prevent the event from even happening.
"I've had enough of this." he said, making his decision.
Rumple hovered his hand above Cogsworth while he conjured up a small amount of magic to heal the sickly creature. After a few seconds passed, Rumple pulled his hand back and waited for Cogsworth to adjust to his newly healed body. He felt a twinge of happiness course through his body, the idea of a happy Belle warming his tattered soul.
"There Cogsworth, now Belle can stop asking me to heal you."
"Are you two on a first name basis now? I knew you'd warm up to Cogsworth, Rumple."
Rumple jumped a bit in his seat, startled by Belle's sudden presence. The imp composed himself quickly, not wanting to let the girl know how much of an effect she had over him.
"Only doing myself a favor dearie."
"Thought you only made deals that work in your favor."
"Well, you wouldn't get much work done if the creature died, now would you dearie? I don't see how that doesn't work in my favor."
He watched as his maid pursed her lips in an attempt to hide her brimming smile.
"Thank you." Belle stooped down next to Rumple and gently pressed a kiss onto his cheek.
When she pulled away, Rumple replaced where her lips had been with his hand.
Rumple watched as Belle scooped Cogsworth into her hands, looking back at him.
"Come on you beast, I'll read you both a story before bed."