Boom! A sound that rang like thunder rumbled far away causing the walls to vibrate in the little bookshop that sat near the edge of downtown. The noise was out of the ordinary, but many of the townspeople didn't notice, as there was much commotion going on that day. Everyone was hustling and bustling about to get ready for the parade that was to happen that afternoon. Everybody except one.
Belle sat in the back of the little bookshop, unwilling to let all the noise break her concentration as she tried to finish mending the book she had been working on all day. She spent most of her days in that little room restoring old books while her two older sisters and brother ran the shop.
"Belle, we just closed the shop!" Belle's oldest sister, Felicie called as she stepped in from the other room, dressed up in her fanciest dress, ready to go out, "You've done enough work, why don't you come out with us?"
Belle paused, looking up from her work, "No, I need to finish this. I'm almost done. You go and have fun."
"Alright, suit yourself," her sister replied without putting up much of an argument. She was being more polite than anything when she extended the invitation, knowing Belle wouldn't come anyway and honestly not wanting her to.
Belle had never been exceptionally close to any of her siblings, although she did love them. Her sisters were selfish, greedy, vain, and cruel at times. They complained constantly about having to run such a lowly bookstore, never grateful for anything. She was probably closest to her brother, Ludovic. He was greedy like her sisters, and spent most of his time drinking and gambling. Still he took care of Belle, keeping his friend Gaston from having his way with her and defending Belle against the torment her sisters rained upon her. They tormented her more often than not, but Belle never felt less of her family, loving them despite their faults.
However, although Belle held a lot of love for her family, her heart belonged to her books. She didn't know what she would do with out them. When she wasn't restoring them, she was reading them. She had never cared to be social, to join in on festivities like the parade that was going on that day. She preferred the solitude and her books. It had gained her the reputation of being odd, but she never cared what others thought of her. The only thing she longed for was adventure, to get away from this provincial life, and her books were the only doorway.
Belle sighed heavily, thinking about it. It depressed her to think she'd never get the adventure she longed for, but she tried her hardest not to dwell on it, always losing herself in her work instead. At least with books she was always guaranteed a happy ending.
As she picked up the needle to resume sewing the binding of the book, her other sister, Adelaide, startled her by screaming out in the next room and sprinting toward the window, "Look! It's the Dark Castle!"
"Where?!" Felicie exclaimed as she knocked Adelaide over to see out the window in hopes of catching a glance of the castle.
"There, on the hillside!" Adelaide pointed to the right.
Belle glanced up, looking out the large window she sat in front of. She was curious herself, but not willing to let her sisters know so. But her curiosity wasn't sated because the castle had just disappeared behind a thick cloud of fog.
"Aw, it's gone now," Adelaide said in a whiny tone, "But did you see it?"
Felicie nodded, "I don't think I've ever seen it that close!" She stepped back smoothing out the wrinkles in her dress.
"You better not have ruined my dress!" Adelaide growled as she frantically searched for tears or stains from where her sister was touching her.
"Oh calm down. There's nothing wrong with your dress."
Belle had been watching them but averted her eyes when they started bickering over something so petty. She had grown weary of listening to her sister's arguments, but never tried to stop them because then they would just focus their hate onto her.
"Come on girls! Hurry up!" Ludovic called from the front room.
"Coming!" the two sisters answered back as they hurried to grab their bags and rush out of the room while they continued gushing over the dark castle and it's owner.
"Did you hear what Rumplestiltskin did to that girl down in Avonlea? They say he tore her heart out, literally."
"That's ridiculous. I know he's powerful, but ripping out someone's heart? They must've meant figuratively. Surely he just broke her heart."
"Oh I wish he had my heart. I'd give anything for a man like that. I hear he can spin straw into gold! Gold! Can you imagine? All the things we could buy!"
The front door shut loudly. Belle breathed a sigh of relief once they were gone was relieved she didn't have to listen to her sister's selfish comments anymore. Belle had never been romantically involved with anyone. When she wasn't at the shop, she was with her father helping him with what she could. He was getting old and needed more help each day, especially since he gambled their life savings away. She didn't have time for romance, but she was not like her sisters. Neither gold nor money would be a reason to marry; if she married, she would marry for love. She could care less about riches.
She couldn't even be sure if the rumor was true that Rumplestiltskin could spin straw into gold. Not much was even known about him. Most information came from stories, were rumors, and only a few people had actually met him. Rumplestiltskin was a mysterious human being, if he even was human. Belle had heard that his skin was not the color of a human, but that of a reptile, that sparkled in the light, and his eyes were that of a demon's. She had heard he was hundreds of years old, but Belle found that notion to be ridiculous. No one could live that long, not even a magical being.
Rumplestiltskin was known mostly for his magic, but Belle had never heard that he used his magic for good. All the stories named him a dealmaker and although the person got what they asked for, his deals always benefited himself.
He stayed in his castle mostly. That was why many had never seen his face. The castle he resided in, the Dark Castle as it was known, moved around from time to time, never in the same place twice. Belle had seen glimpses of it from a distance, but never up close. She was sad it was so foggy outside that day; disappointed it blocked her from catching a glimpse of the palace. It sparked her curiosity, along with Rumplestiltskin himself. Yet, she knew she would never meet him and in a way she was thankful. He was known for being evil and she felt she had enough darkness in her life.
As she continued working on the book, it wasn't long before it was complete. Belle set it aside, stroking the binding, the book looking good as new. She was proud of her work and always took extra care into doing a great job. It brought a smile to her face as she looked at the finish product. Now it was time to start on the next one. Yet, as Belle picked up the other book, one that had a major rip in the crease and stain on the front, her smile disappeared.
She might not have wanted to be social or take part in social events, but at times she couldn't help but feel lonely. It didn't help that the shop was so quiet, although she wasn't wishing for her family to return just yet.
Sighing heavily, she decided she would quit for the day. It would take a lot of work to fix this particular book; it would be best to start early the next day. To ease her loneliness she decided she would make a trip to the library to search for a new book to read.
Carefully putting the things away, she went upstairs to her little apartment to get her bag and wash up. As she ran her fingers through her brown locks, she couldn't help but examine herself in the mirror. Her name meant beauty, but she didn't feel beautiful. Her clothes were not that fancy, and her hands had calluses on them from all the work she did. Sometimes she her sisters seemed jealous of her "beauty," but she always convinced herself that she was imagining things. Instead she believed her sisters to be beautiful, but not herself. That was one reason she chose to wear such plain dresses, while her sisters wore things fit for beautiful women. Her sister's dresses were made of expensive silks, while Belle just wore a simple blue cotton one that laced down the front and hung down just below her knees. Every once in a while she wondered what it would be like to wear such a fancy dress, but overall she was content with what she had.
Once she was finished getting ready, she locked up the shop, and made her way through the streets toward the library, which was in the middle of town. She brought along a book she needed to return, reading the last chapter along the way. She could hear the noise of the crowds and the parade as she approached the town square, it growing louder with every step. Coming close to the main road, Belle caught a glimpse of the parade full of thousands of soldiers marching off to war. Everyone cheered them on and seemed so excited about it, but to Belle there was nothing to be excited about when it came to war. Especially this war. This was an Ogre War. There hadn't been one in hundreds of years. The last time the ogres attacked, they had mysteriously all disappeared at once. It was rumored a creature called the Dark One was responsible, but no one knew for sure. However, now after all these years, the ogres had somehow returned to the lands, destroying everything and everyone in their path.
Since the parade was on the main street, Belle knew she needed to find an alternate route to the library. Wandering down through the side streets, she found a back ally that led directly to her destination. Making her way between the buildings her mind was completely engulfed on the ending of her story allowing a tall, muscular man to sneak up on her from behind the corner, startling her and stopping her in her tracks.
"Why hello Belle," the dark headed brute said as he loomed over her. He was dressed in a soldier uniform, but what he was doing away from the others, Belle didn't know.
"Gaston," Belle said curtly, trying to take a few steps back to increase the distance between them. His closeness was making her very nervous, and she didn't like the look in his eyes.
He gave her an ugly grin, stepping toward her every time she tried to move back, "Are you out here all alone? Where's your brother?"
Belle tried to keep her composure. Her brother. She wished he were here right now. Everyone knew that Gaston pined after her, but Ludovic always kept Gaston in check. Why they were even friends, Belle didn't understand, but she suspected it had to do with money. "Oh uh, he's watching the parade with my sisters. I was just going to the library."
"The library? Now how many times Belle have I told you to get your head out of those books and start paying attention to more important things…like me. It's not right for a woman to read. Soon she starts getting ideas…thinking."
"Gaston you are positively primeval."
"Why thank you," he replied and put his hands on her shoulders, "Now whatta ya say you and me take a walk over to the tavern, take a look at my trophies…get to know one another more before I go off to war."
Belle could feel a shiver flow through her body as she heard the insinuation in his voice. And she knew she didn't have a choice. There was no one else around to stop Gaston, and he was much bigger and stronger than her. She wouldn't be able to resist. She tried not to let the fear show in her eyes, but her voice was shaky, "Uh…maybe some other time."
His grip tightened on her, "I'm going off to war Belle. And I need a nice send off before I go."
Belle gulped and she was about to give a comeback when she felt an arm slip through her elbow.
"There you are sweetheart. I couldn't find you!" A male voice, the owner of the arm, said.
Belle jumped a little when this man took her arm and addressed her. She looked up, her bright blue eyes meeting dark brown ones. This man was only an inch or so taller than her and he had light brown hair dusted with gray that fell to his shoulders. He was dressed impeccably in a pinstriped suit complete with tie and vest. He held a gold tipped cane in his free hand. His whole aura radiated money and power. She didn't know the man, not personally, but she knew his very strong reputation he held around town so it was hard not to recognize him.
Gaston took his hands off Belle, clearly not happy that he had been interrupted, "And who are you?"
"I find it hard to believe you don't know who I am?" Belle's savior scoffed sarcastically with a wicked grin, "After all most do. Perhaps you're not from around here. But if you go two blocks ahead and make a right, you'll find I own the only pawn shop in town."
Gaston straightened, instantly realizing whom he was addressing at the mention of the pawn shop. However, he loomed over the man by at least a foot. He didn't feel threatened. "What business do you have with Belle?"
"My own. Now I believe you have a parade to attend." He tapped his cane on the ground.
"What? No I'm not finished with you yet!" But Gaston suddenly could feel his body began to walk away from the couple toward the parade. "Wait! What's going on?" Belle heard him exclaim as he left realized he was completely unable to control his own motions.
Once he was out of sight, she breathed a sigh of relief. She was free. She was safe. She looked up at her savior and smiled, "Thank you."
"It's no matter," he said brushing it off. Belle began to pull her arm away from him, but he stopped her. "Please allow me escort you to your destination."
"Oh, uh, there's no need. I was just going to the library." She could feel herself blushing.
"I must. I wouldn't want that brute to show up again and harass you."
"You…you're Mr. Gold," she asked a little nervously wanting to confirm what she already knew before she allowed him to take her anywhere.
"Aye. And Belle is it?"
She nodded again, "Belle French."
"Belle, a name that means beauty. It suits you perfectly." He smiled and pulled her hand up to his lips for a brief kiss.
Belle's face turned redder. She was unused to this kind of flattery. "Alright Mr. Gold. You may escort me to the library."
a/n Ok so the plot bunnies would not leave me alone after I watched this movie (Howl's Moving Castle). It just screamed Rumbelle and I had to start this story. Just a few notes, Belle's siblings are from one of the original Beauty and the Beast stories. Mr. Gold and Rumplestiltskin are the same person, but the townspeople don't know that, I tried to make that clear but just in case I didn't I thought I'd let you know. The town I'd say is kind of a hybrid Storybrooke/ Enchanted Forest town. It has some elements of both. Hope you enjoy!
