Chapter 1
A month passed before Sir Maurice felt at ease enough to allow the Dark One near his daughter without supervision. The imp stayed by her at all times, but did not look her in the eye when she spoke to him depending on his mood. His responses to her questions were blunt with a hint of annoyance, which only sparked Belle's curiosity of him.
And that curiosity had him recoiling from her, as if she were a flame that sought to scorch him. He knew Belle had become fascinated by him as soon as he opened his mouth about his age. One day he even let her touch the skin on his cheek, and realized the light touch of her small fingers sent shivers down his spine as they drifted over his golden scales. That sensation stirred something deep within his dark soul, and had him peering at her blue eyes with uncertainty and fear now as she patted an empty spot next to her on a bench.
"You don't have to shy away from me, Rumplestiltskin. I promise I won't bite," Belle remarked, giving him a playful smirk before she sat next to him, wrapping her warm cloak around her curvy form. The rains of the past few days had subsided, giving way to sunny, blue skies. The weather was cool, signifying the coming winter, but Belle insisted they step outside to her gardens where they could get some fresh air.
"Oh, it's not that I'm afraid you'll bite me, dearie. It's the fact that I'd rather be in my castle, doing productive things instead of playing babysitter for a grown woman," he retorted, but gave in and settled next to her on the bench. The truth was he didn't expect to watch over a beauty only to become fond of her. She intrigued him, she was a mystery, and when she wasn't looking he found himself observing her as he spun at his wheel. No matter how many times he shied away from her touch, each day the flutter in his chest became stronger when he heard her voice or when she smiled at him. This would not do, he had to get away from the clutch of the dagger as soon as possible.
Belle's sapphire eyes fell to her hands clasped in her lap as he spoke of his imprisonment. She felt guilt for the strange man assigned to protect her. He exhibited intelligence, energy, and an aura of mystery. The Dark One was not a man to be contained and watch over someone. Her father, a man she deemed cruel and harsh, had taken another man's freedom due to his own mishaps. Dark One or not, Rumplestiltskin was a person with thoughts and feelings like everyone else.
"I'm sorry, my father is extreme. I don't approve of his methods." If Belle had the power, she would have convinced her father to let him go.
Alas, women had no place to speak their minds in these lands. Her father and her fiancé disapproved of her intelligent mind, discouraging her at every opportunity. It frustrated her, and made her feel like a caged only person in her entire life who didn't suffocate her with demands or crush her with discouragements was the Dark One.
"It's no matter, dearie. I'm sure you had no say in this, considering how your father tries to control your every move as well. I'm not surprised his plan was to control me," Rumple uttered with a bite of venom to his words.
A startled gasp left Rumple's lips as he felt her warm hand on his, and he swiftly looked away, not wanting to catch a glimpse of the beautiful eyes that captivated him. She was a touchy-feely creature, who touched him far too often. The more she touched him, the more he craved her.
He pulled his hand from under her's as he felt heat rising throughout his body. This girl would be the death of him, no matter that he was immortal, the conflicting feelings he felt would cause his heart to stop before long. He began to wonder if it the dagger had sway over him or if this girl possessed such power.
"That he is. So is Gaston, he's a useless brute. All he talks about is hunting, and it's disgusting and so are his manners," she muttered, running her hands in the soil behind her, relishing in its cool softness.
Rumple tittered at her description of Gaston, Belle's ridiculous fiancé. He met the oaf a couple of times, just by his words alone Rumple could tell the man was daft. He was handsome but as dull as a piece of straw before it transformed into gold through his spinning wheel. Belle deserved better than him with her sharp mind and flawless beauty.
"Ah, yes, your fiancé. The boy is a fool, I imagine one day he's going to get gutted by an animal due to his careless confidence." Rumple felt a slight sting as Belle's hand came down on his arm, which only made him giggle more. Two weeks ago he would have snarled at her for being so bold, but he figured out her personality quickly enough to know her slap was a playful gesture.
"Don't say such cruel things. He's not my favorite person in the world, but I wish him no harm." The expression on her face became melancholy as she rubbed the soil off her hands, then smoothed it over as if she had never touched it. Her thoughts occupied with what her future would look like once she married Gaston, a man who would, without a doubt, treat her like one of the animals he hunted. She would be a useless thing to be thrown away once her job of bearing him sons came to completion.
"Well, you're a far better person than I am, dearie." He sat up, turning to her. "It's getting cooler. I think it is time you and I retire to your room for the afternoon and evening."
She nodded in response and sat up, twining her arm with his. Rumple refrained from pulling away from her this time, the foreign touch disturbingly welcome as they strolled through the garden.
They passed by a variety of flowers, which created a sea of blues, pinks, and yellows as the wind whipped through them. His thoughts wandered to how Belle would look bathed and dressed in such colors. The rosebushes surrounding the doorway needed trimming and the vines would take over the exterior of the house before long, he heard Belle utter as they passed through the doorway, snapping him out of his wicked thoughts. He responded to her as if he had been listening, and was rewarded with a smile.
They were met in the Great Hall by her father, who eyed them precariously when he noticed their arms entwined. Rumple caught on quickly to the disapproval and removed his arm, but stayed by Belle's side.
Maurice smiled at his prompt obedience. The smugness on the lord's face irritated him more than a flea crawling and biting on flesh. At least his daughter had become pleasant to be around.
" My dear Belle," Maurice said, hugging his daughter close. "Have you thought about the dress you wanted to wear to your birthday ball?"
Rumple raised his eyebrows in surprise. A ball? He remembered how she needed to be fitted for a dress. This certainly answered his question on said dress. He groaned slightly, this meant he would have to attend a ball, and act as her chaperone. The growing enjoyment of her company did not quell his dislike of social gatherings. Worse, he couldn't say no, he would have to go.
"I have, papa. The seamstress is getting the dress ready as we speak. It will be ready first thing tomorrow." She placed her hand on his chest, and a feigned a smile. She would rather read her books, or talk of intellectual subjects with her new companion than have Gaston chase her all over the ballroom. She bet her mother's locket the buffoon would be drunk within an hour of her party.
"Very good, my girl," he looked at Rumplestiltskin, standing idly aside," and you will accompany her to the ball."
"I figured as much," he responded snidely, clasping his hands behind him.
Sir Maurice glared at him before turning his attentions to his daughter. "Go on to your room. You have a big day tomorrow." She smiled again and turned on her heel, Rumple following close behind.
She opened the doors to her room and let out the air she was holding inside her lungs. "I am not looking forward to this ball at all." She landed face first on her bed. The fresh sheets comforting and stilling the growing the anxiety of having to play the proper noble as Gaston pawed at her relentlessly.
"Neither am I, dearie. We're both in the same boat, apparently." He walked to his spinning wheel, his fingers already touching the top of the wheel before sitting down.
Most of his needed supplies had been moved from the Dark Castle, thanks to his magic the moving was easy. He received the room adjoining Belle's upon his arrival, but he placed his spinning wheel in her's due to there being more space. He refused to admit that he enjoyed her company as he spun, or how his heart fluttered when her eyes lit up as she watched the straw turn into a thin, golden string.
She turned her head and looked at him. "You will protect me from him, won't you?"
The creaking of the wheel stopped as soon as she said those words. "Of course, dearie, that's why I'm here." Had she forgotten why he was stuck in this gods forbidden place? He felt a spark of anger crawl through his body and nest in his chest, and for the first time he aimed it at her.
" I know, but I meant Gaston." She shifted and rested her weight on her elbows. Her fiancé's growing sexual aggression towards her became a subject she kept to herself. She was ready to spill it to this creature, her protecter. She noted his expression change from a cold harshness to a softness that reflect in his odd colored eyes.
"What do you mean? Has your fumbling idiot of a fiancé been harming you without me knowing?" He stayed by her side most of the time, unless she was bathing or dressing, which would allow Gaston to sneak in and attempt to perform unspeakable acts towards her.
She fidgeted with a piece of loose thread on her quilt before answering him, her eyes turned downward to focus on it. "Not recently, not since you arrived. Before you came he did attempt to have his way with me. I've feared him ever since. I didn't want to tell you in the garden in case there were eavesdroppers. If anyone were to hear me speak ill of him, I could face serious consequences."
He dropped the thread he held between his fingers. This would not do, he would put that brute in his place. No one placed a hand on the beauty to mar her beautiful skin or ruin her in other numerous ways. Oh, Gaston would pay and his anger became a burning coal of hatred for the man. "I'm glad you told me this, Belle. If he so much as touches you inappropriately I will turn him into a snail and smash him under my boot."
Her lips quirked into a smile. "Thank you, Rumplestiltskin. Though I don't think getting him off me will take such extreme measures." Even though she really wished the fool no unnecessary harm, and only wanted protection, the idea of him being turned into a snail made her giggle.
"It's no matter," Rumple said softly, his thoughts buzzing about her wretched fiancé, as the creaking continued with each turn of his wheel.
She watched him for a few more moments before moving to where her pillows rested, and grabbed the book she had been reading off her nightstand. She wanted to read a few pages before the sun set and darkness fell upon them.
Before long, she lifted her hand to her lips to muffle a yawn. She placed the book back on the nightstand, and shifted under the covers until she got comfortable. The rhythmic sound of Rumple's wheel soon sending her into a deep and peaceful sleep.