Time worked differently in the dark castle. Belle was unsure of how long she had been working for Rumplestiltskin; a week, a month, not that it really mattered.
Every day was monotonously repetitive. Belle would wake up at 7:30 and prepare the dark one's breakfast, a collection of meats, pastries and a steaming pot of tea. Rumplestiltskin was very persistent that breakfast was to be served at exactly 8:07; This was a curious time to pick but Belle always obeyed and so at 8:07 she would enter the dining room with the tray, pour his tea then exit the room to begin her duties. Belle would spend the majority of each day cleaning the castle until 8:26 when she would serve Rumplestiltskin his dinner. Once that final task was completed she would read whatever she could find and retire to the dungeon to start the whole dismal cycle again the following day.
Naturally Belle missed her father and the few friends that she had but she had surprised herself by not missing her old life as much as she should; Thats not to say that she was happy being the dark ones maid. Belle drifted through each day, with no true purpose it was easy to forget yourself. The man himself was a mystery. He hid behind the mask of the dark one, behind the sniggers, the harsh comments and high pitched squeal of a voice. She was curious to find out how an ordinary man could become like this. As of yet, Belle hadn't had the chance to have a proper conversation with him that wasn't discussing house duties or food.
The best days were when Rumplestiltskin had to go travelling. In a castle filled with an array of treasures to examine, Belle enjoyed nothing more than peeking into each room and discovering something new that he had brought back from across the seas. Her favourites were currently an enchanted sword which would be able to repel magic and a gauntlet that would lead you to someone's greatest weakness.
Belle had spent many hours with the sword in hand, imagining herself in ruthless combat to defend her kingdom. This would have been very entertaining to watch as she spun around the room, stumbling over her dress and frantically grasping for the table to prevent herself from falling over.
But on this day when the dark one had left Belle went in search of something different. She snuck into the left wing of the castle and begun peeking into each room. After exploring for a while she reached a staircase at the end of a hall. Belle hastily ascended the stairs, grinning cheekily to herself until she reached the top. In front of her stood a petite wooden door which was hanging from its hinges, revealing the room inside. She lit a candle and lifted it to be able to see inside the darkness of the tower. She crept in cautiously, the only sound was the squeaking of her feet on the floorboards and the wind howling ferociously outside. The room was a perfect circle with boxes filled with broken antiques and rags. Opposite the door stood an ancient antique wardrobe. Belle felt herself being drawn towards it and was soon looking up at its doors.
Slowly but determinedly Belle placed her hand on the handle but felt anxious over the contents inside the wardrobe, she told herself to stop being silly and counted down from three "three...two...one" the doors of the wardrobe flung open to reveal an array of clothes. Belle chuckled at herself for her stupidity but frowned when she looked closer. The clothes in question were small, child sized in fact. The dank colours and course material revealed it would have belonged to a child of a very poor background. Belle pondered over who the clothes would have belonged to and what they were doing in the dark ones castle but her thoughts were interrupted with a high pitched announcement "Belle...I'm back" At the sound of her masters voice she jerked into action, running from the room and back to her duties;but she couldn't forget what she had seen, who did those clothes belong to?