The sun had already reached the top of sky and was on its leisurely way down the horizon when Belle finally finished her interviews in the west side of the Park.
Her feet were killing her. She underestimated how large and distant from one another the Habitats would have been, and now, at five in the afternoon, she started reconsidering her professional choice for professional heels. Maybe sneakers could be just as comfortably professional, for the next day. Yes, definitely sneakers.
Despite the fatigue from walking all day, she was happy with what she had seen and whom she had met.
Her very first stop had been to The Dwarves PUB — that is how they called the mines they had built for the tiny people. It was a charming place, in its peculiar way. Like an actual mine, they had started in a cavern and ended many feet underground, crossing passage after passage. A main corridor split into several others, as the guests— in this case, Belle and the dwarves' Caretaker — walked by all the entries and the glass walls.
Belle was glad she didn't suffer from any degree of claustrophobia, or that would have made her debut interview with the residents impossible. The place was already underground, torches on the walls surrounded them and the ceiling was inches smaller than what could be considered comfortable. She knew it was built in proportion to the dwarves smaller bodies, but even she at times felt trapped in the passageways as they turned corner after corner.
At least the residents looked happy. As Mike, the Caretaker, had said, they lived and worked there.
"Dwarves", he had explained as soon as they started walking into the cavern "take pride in their labor. If you strip them of that, they would not have purpose in life. That's why we extended the mine so they can have a place to work"
Belle had nodded, curious and appreciative of the crew's commitment. "Of course", Mike had added, "It's redundant work. We put in new things for them to mine and break every month, but they enjoy it. We even built a Time Clock for them to punch in their cards. We don't require them to, but they like it" Mike had grinned proudly, pointing to the contraption on the wall.
Belle smiled again. As small as it was, the place could be lovely.
After they explored their working area, Mike brought Belle to meet their rooms. It was an entirely different part of the mines, with cleaner floors and rustic picture frames on the wall, decorated for the tastes for a dwarf, she supposed. Slowly, the cave transformed into an underground inn, as they got closer to their shared living area and all the doors that led to their personal rooms. Her eyes wondered to where a long counter stood, in front of many barrels.
They even had a bar! Belle was officially impressed, now.
Of course, everything was behind either thick bars or glass walls, but they all allowed the guests to interact with the residents in civil enough manners — a nice conversation was still possible.
Belle watched as the dwarves talked amongst themselves, shared a huge glass of beer and laughed at some dirty joke one of they had acted out. They all sat on the big — well, definitely big for them — couch in the middle of the room, and chattered like old friends. Another warm smiled illuminated Belle's face.
"May I ask," Mike dispersed her thoughts as he leaned in to whisper to her, "What do you know about them?" He asked, without taking his eyes off the dwarves. Belle took deep breath to try and form words.
"The basics, really" She shook her head, careful not to miss the tiniest interactions between them. The way they moved, how they talked, how they looked. She had to remember all that to write down later, when she walked out of the dim light of the torches. "I didn't really want to study each creature too extensively, so not to affect my judgment of the individuals. But, appearance wise," She raised her hand towards them, as if showing them to Mike for the first time, "they're small humans, big nose and ears, that love to work. I think that would be correct" She finished with an amused gaze on her face.
Mike nodded, averting his eyes back to them. "Fairly," he admitted, "But you'll learn fast enough that our creatures have traits beyond their general descriptions. They have…" he exhaled a sound that Belle could only define as weary, "some strong personalities"
"Oh" Belle arched her eyebrows, curious to understand where the sudden change had come from.
"Yeah," he seemed to catch her unspoken question "Well, I'll introduce you to the one we call Grumpy" Mike glanced back at her, with a dramatic expression on his face; eyes big and comically alarmed, "And you'll see what I mean"
Grumpy was definitely grumpy. She thought that, if ever Granny considered visiting the Park, she and the dwarf would get along.
Nevertheless, the awkward conversation and the judgmental looks she got from Grumpy were quickly kicked to the back of her mind, as the busied herself with meeting other creatures.
She knew she would meet some unpleasant residents. She was prepared for that, professionally so. She would not let that upset her. She had been dealing with Killian for years — a simple rude remark wouldn't affect her at all.
Almost like a heavenly palate cleanser, she continued her journey and was introduced to The Fairy Forest, The Fairies Habitat.
It was much, much smaller than the Dwarves Pub. In fact, so tiny and cute that Aurora — the Fairies Caretaker — had carefully explained that it was not meant to tour in. Belle laughed at the joke. Of course it wasn't. The forest was to the scale of plastic dolls, all reduced to feel normal-sized to the surprisingly petite creatures. And, gods, was it cute.
It was big, even in its smallness, and Belle immediately understood why. There lived several fairies, all glowing different colors, wearing different dresses, flying in different places under the huge glass cupola. It was a colony, basically; so it wasn't a surprise that even the tiniest forest she had even seen extended for almost a hundred feet in diameter.
Aurora surely had her hands full watching all over them. Admittedly, it seemed like a much more pleasant job than watching after constantly drunk — occasionally rude — dwarves. Because, gods, the fairies were so nice.
Blue, the one Aurora explained was their Matriarch, was the sweetest of them all, treating Belle with the care and attention she would have expected from Granny. It was the perfect compensation, she thought.
They carried a lovely conversation, as Belle and Aurora walked by edge of the habitat, and Blue followed along inside the immense glass dome that held them in. As they reached the end of the forest and the final point of the conversation, Belle said her friendly goodbyes and walked happily to the other side of the street to discover what was left.
She explored The Witches District, the region of the Park reserved for all the different Witches Habitats. It looked like a suburban neighborhood, surrounded by an immense dome, similar to the one keeping the fairies in and, under it, a captivating variety of architecture styles and planned buildings.
On one side of the street, lived the witches who preferred humble cottages with tiny yards and weird gardens. On the other, the more extravagant witches had their elegant mansions, complete with abundant trees and special labs for their potion making.
They lived considerably well, in comparison to the other residents. So many of them, they were gifted with their own individual household of choice, filled with everything and anything they could possibly want.
Their Caretaker, an odd man named Sebastian, explained that their choice to separate them was crucial — it was either that or dealing with a fireball war every week. He continued explaining how competitive and unfriendly the witches could act with one another, and how much of that was reflected in the way their treated the guests.
In light of that, the tour for the particular area was… specially nerve-wracking. Belle met with all the witches — who didn't exactly care to challenge Sebastian's unflattering description —, until the two sister that lived at the end of the street were the only ones left.
Regina and Zelena, they were called.
Sebastian explained they were sisters, and their mother, Cora, had to be exiled to the other extreme of the district, to avoid any more raging battles. Quickly enough, Belle learned to be careful around them.
Their magic was limited to their respective homes, and as Sebastian guided her through the Sisters' Mansion, he assured her that the bracelet she was given to wear protected her from any kind of magic they might try. It relieved Belle's nerves, and slowly she stopped seeing them as the angry witches, and started seeing them as the angry suburban women — just as scary and sarcastic, but unable to throw fireballs. That was comfort enough for Belle.
Then, she met with Sarah, who introduced her to Jiminy's Library, the Cricket Habitat.
Much like the Fairy Forest, it was petite, yet vast. An elegant house with glass walls, adorned with classic — tiny — furniture and many — tiny — replicas of famous books. From literature to advanced science, Cricket read it all, and was able to carry a wonderful conversation with Belle, as soon as they were introduced to one another.
They discussed everything from Shakespeare's snarky irony to Freud's inclined problems until Sarah tapped on Belle's shoulder and showed her the time. It was getting late. They talked for too long, and Belle had to hurry to the next habitat.
She promised Jiminy she would be back to continue their discussion, and headed gleefully to the new destination.
The Werewolf Den.
At first glance, it was nothing special.
As soon as she crossed the ark that announced the new creature, she found herself standing in front of an ordinary wolf habitat. She felt like she had seen that already, from the many times she visited Zoos as a kid. It had trees, fallen trunks, a large den in the ground, a long stream and, far in the distance, an open space for running.
It didn't strike her with any distinguishable feeling of wonder. It was a large habitat, unquestionably, but she had become desensitized to their size. She expected them to be big, by now. The many square miles, didn't amaze her.
What caught her attention, however, was the cabin placed roughly in the middle of the wooded zone. A wooden cabin with a humble porch, large windows and a smoking chimney. It resembled the hunting cabins people usually had, in the wilderness, as an escape from the city.
And it had a warm look to it, too — it seemed cozy and simple — and she wondered who lived there.
Tall, thick silver bars secured the entire habitat like a cage. She found that odd. Most places were bounded by reinforced clear glass. The bars were a new element. She concluded, then, it was to be expected.
She knew werewolves were especially vulnerable to silver, and she considered that maybe a clear glass would not be enough to hold them in. Suddenly, then, she wondered who lived in there, for a very different reason.
She turned to the station located just outside the habitat, which she learned was always the Caretaker's office.
"Excuse me?" She called from where she stood, and instantly a young man emerged from the door, his dark shirt tucked halfway into his pants, and his dark hair a mess. He seemed young. Younger than most Caretakers.
"Yes?" He adjusted his uniform when he became aware of Belle's gaze. Presentable again, he walked closer. Belle squinted to look at this ID. Zack.
She pointed to the quiet and empty habitat. "Where are they?"
"Oh," Zack nodded, "the werewolf. She is a moody one," He followed Belle's eyes and examined the cabin. His lips pressed together, almost apologetically. "She doesn't always show up to meet the guests" he looked back at Belle, raising his shoulders and letting them fall back down. "She's kind of a loner"
Belle frowned. "Only one?"
She found that strange. Most creatures had companions of their same kind. Jiminy was the first she met who lived alone, and she could understand the rarity of a talking cricket, but…. Werewolves? Were they really that scarce?
Zack bobbed his head, "The only one. We tried to get her to breed or bite. Anything to pass the curse forward and preserve the species but…" He looked back at the empty space, and a worried shadow crossed his hazel eyes. "She refuses"
Belle examined habitat one more time. The place looked that much bigger now that she knew only one person inhabited it; the cabin, that much lonelier. "What about her pack?" She asked, "The family, parents?"
Zack shook his head, pulling the corners of his mouth downwards, "Nothing. Nothing came before her. When Mr. Gold established the place, she was already the only one"
"That's… a shame", Belle breathed out, her frown growing sympathetic. "Her kind is fascinating"
"I agree" Zack sighed alongside Belle. After a second, he snapped his fingers and walked away, back towards his station. "Let me — one second, I'll ring her out so you can meet her"
Belle watched as he searched through the many controls on the electronic panel in his office. She blinked, "I'm sorry. Ring her out?" She questioned. That was a new term for her.
As Zack turned to her, he gestured, "Uh, werewolves can hear frequencies we can't. If I play one loud enough, she'll come out of hiding" and he turned his attention back to finding the right label "Just a second"
"That's cruel" Belle whispered to herself.
"Don't worry. They're strong creatures," Zack explained, "Or, you don't want to meet her? I guarantee you, she's the perfect case for your story" He sounded excited in his argument and Belle couldn't detect any ill-intentions. Maybe, he really was young.
"Why?" She inclined her head to the side.
"The human thing," he pointed, "She is very vocal about it. Okay, let me call her"
Finally, he pressed the switch on the panel, but Belle could hear nothing. She watched for long seconds as the den remained unchanged.
She was about to ask him if he pushed the right button, when the cabin door burst open.
That sound she could hear. Loud and sharp, the heavy wooden door hit the walls, and a tall girl stumbled outside, mumbling what must have been curses under her breath.
Belle admired her for a moment.
She looked nothing but human, and that startled Belle. She expected someone much rougher, much stranger, much less… well, stunning. And her professional gaze secretly faltered and turned not so scientific, as she followed the girl's movements.
Fair skin and long dark brown hair, she didn't appear to be much older than Belle. She wore a ripped pair of jeans and a ripped, oversized t-shirt — none of which appeared to have been designed that way — and Belle assumed that was normal for a werewolf, to have torn clothes from time to time. It was not like everyone shared her same concerns for outfits.
The next thing that caught her attention were the big green eyes, as soon as they were open and free from the pained scowl on the fair face.
The girl released the tight grip of her hands over her ears, and immediately turned her attention to the Caretaker. "Fuck, Zack! What do you want?" She cursed at the boy, ignoring Belle's presence completely.
Zack put his hands on his hips as he reprimanded her like a kindergarten teacher. "You have a visitor. Show some manners", he signaled to Belle, and the girl's attention slowly gravitated to her.
Belle froze in place. The green eyes felt heavy on her body, examining her every detail.
The girl appeared annoyed, to say the least.
"Oh, nice. Another guest" she faked a celebratory grin that made Belle very uncomfortable, "What is it this time? Another fashion magazine wanting to know what dwarves and witches wear?"
She looked Belle up and down again, like she saw in her the personification of all that she despised, and Belle felt transported to her worst days of high school.
"Ruby, be nice!" Zack pleaded, but it sounded more like a warning.
So Ruby was her name.
"She is a respectful journalist and she wants to talk to you for a moment. Friendly" he emphasized. Maybe he saw how nervous Belle was.
Ruby scoffed, "Sure. I believe it"
Belle breathed in. She had met Grumpy. She had met Regina. And Zelena. She had met Granny. This girl was nothing on them.
She cleared her throat and took one step closer to be bars.
"Hello. My name is Belle French, I work for The Author," she bowed her head, "It's an honor to meet you"
Ruby didn't seem impressed by her courtesy. She just raised a single eyebrow, "Is it? I'm just an ordinary looking person"
Belle shook her head and forced an enthusiastic smile, "You're a werewolf! Legends of your kind are sacred in certain places of the world" she gripped her notebook against her chest, "You are… a myth and a deity to some"
Again, Ruby's reaction was apathetic. "Bring them to meet me, then"
Belle flinched, and she would have tried to circle the subject, but Zack stepped in. "Ruby. Watch it, or I'll push it again"
Ruby shot him an angry stare and shrugged. Belle felt her own shoulders tense up.
"I'm sorry," she tried to pull Ruby's attention back to her, "Did I come at a bad time?"
The rosy lips curved into a sarcastic smile, and Ruby gestured around. "I'm locked against my will in this silver cage and I can't get any sleep because they have a special button to piss me off" She waited as her words reached Belle and broke her smile into pieces. Then, she added, "It is always a bad time"
Belle gulped, "I… I'm sorry"
"What do you want?" Ruby sighed, impatient.
"I wanted to chat," Belle explained, testing her calmest, most harmless voice. The one she used to talk to the cyclops few stops earlier. "You see, I'm writing a piece about the humanness in creatures like you —"
Ruby's mask of indifference flickered for a second, but she quickly rolled her shoulder back and disguised it with another layer of annoyance.
"— and over the course of a few months, I'll get to know all of you, your behaviors, your personalities, your specificities. And I'll write a story that will change the way people look at you" Belle promised, and waited patiently for Ruby's response. A nice one, for a change.
After the brief silence, the girl just shook her head and looked around. "Oh, that surely is hopeful of you. But, I'm sorry, you won't change much" She raised her brow, drawing vibrant fatigue on her face. "People have already decided what to think and feel about us. We're different, so that makes us a circus attraction"
Belle gasped before she could stop herself, "That is not true!"
Ruby's face changed. For a moment, the apathy left her body and she was renewed with an air of defiance. "It isn't?"
She stepped closer to the bars, and Belle's bones begged her to step back. She fought to stand her ground.
"Then, please, explain to me why we're not talking over pancakes and tea, sitting at nice picnic table, talking like normal people do," Ruby continued, her green eyes daring and steady on Belle's terrified blue ones. "Explain to me why I'm in this cage, with this guy with his hand on the button," she pointed to Zack on the other side, "and you" She took one more step too close, "armed with your flowery notebook and pen while you dissect me"
The silence reigned. Belle wanted to reply, but she couldn't find the words. Or the voice to. She swallowed her nerves, and cast a glance to Zack, who gently tried to calm her down.
"You see?" Ruby interjected their exchange, "Now even you are scared of me. You, the important person destined to change my life," She snorted a dry laugh. "Wow, I'm optimistic"
Belle couldn't let the girl talk to her like that. She was professional. She had qualifications. She had been dealing with Killian for years. She would not let this girl — who reminded her too much of her high school bullies — intimidate her.
She inhaled deeply, letting the air fill her with confidence. Or at least pretend to.
"I'm sorry, but I have no power over the circumstances under which we meet," She explained, feeling her voice lose the soft edges, "This was all arranged beforehand —"
"So," Ruby inclined her head closer to the bars, "You would be okay with talking to me outside this cage, where I can easily kill you?"
Belle's breath got caught in her throat. Her body tensed up, and before she could defend herself, Ruby's body contracted in pain. Her hands shot to her head, covering her ears, and Belle turned to Zack. He had his hand firm on the ringing button.
"No, wait!" She protested.
He eased his fingers and released the button, ending the command. "I'm sorry. She was being rude," he said.
Belle puffed in frustration. That wouldn't help her argument.
She turned back to try and assist Ruby somehow, but the girl had already staggered back up, straightening her posture. She bared her teeth, exposing canines sharper than of a human. Her laugh was angry, now.
"Tell me," Ruby's green eyes found Belle again, "On the world outside, do people have useful little buttons like this for when others are being rude or inappropriate?"
Belle let out an exasperated sigh, "Look, I don't believe in this kind of handling. Don't treat me like I do"
"Fine," Ruby dropped her shoulders as she breathed out, "How should I treat you, then?" She eyed Belle down again, "You are still holding your notebook and pen, after all"
Belle looked down at herself. She pressed the notebook to her chest, with a defensive kind of force, while she held the pen tightly in her tense fingers. Her posture didn't match her words. She obligated herself to change it.
Reaching for the bag on her shoulder, she put the belongings inside and nudged the bag back, away from view.
"Nice gesture," Ruby conceded, "But you'll get back to your hotel room and write about me, just the same. It doesn't change why you're here"
"I'm not here to dissect you" Belle fought.
"You are" Ruby's voice was hard. "You are going to study how I talk, how I walk, how I eat and how I sleep. And then, you're going to ask me, sweetly veiled, how the werewolf feels like. What I can hear, what I can smell. What I can break and how fast I can run," She studied Belle's reactions, raw and exposed in her anxiety. The tension in her frown never relaxing as she continued, "And then, if I can change, how I do it, and, you'll study me all over again in wolf form"
Ruby allowed the silence to carry her tone.
"You'll write it all down, and maybe, next to the scientific analysis and cold data, you'll write a beautiful, sentimental piece about how this particular werewolf feels," She placed a hand on her chest, mocking a thankful expression, "That she hates owls and is very moody in the mornings. That she likes bad movies and electronic music. And then, finally, you'll go home" Ruby let her hand fall to her side, her face slowly going back to the stern features, "And I'll still be here. Granted, with a few new strangers wanting to meet me — who knows, maybe even date me. But I'll still be here" She clenched her jaw, "Does that sound okay to you?"
This time, Ruby didn't break the silence. She said what she wanted to say. She left Belle to drown in it, now, wordless and voiceless.
Belle tried in vain a few times, to speak up, stand up for herself, make her case, but she couldn't. She was stuck.
"Maybe we should move on?" Zack's suggestion startled her. He approached quietly, his voice as gentle as possible. Ruby grinned at the change in the atmosphere.
"Yeah, yeah. Go" She waved them away, turning her back to the bars and walking back to her cabin. "You still have to meet Ariel, the mermaid who loves romantic comedies and classical music. She will be friendlier and her story will certainly sell more," she yelled back, "Go, go!"
Belle snapped — that was all she could take of this bully. She stomped, her hands rigid in fists by her sides. "You're rude!" She screamed to Ruby, voice cracked and thin.
Very professional.
She could only see Ruby's shoulders shaking in what she assumed was an amused laughter. Then, the girl shouted back to Belle. "And you're free," she waved a last time, "Goodbye now"
And she slammed the cabin door shut.
The blast rose louder this time, shutting up any possible attempt at a clever comeback from Belle. Not that she would be able to think of any.
So she slumped back in her place, stunned and flustered.
What a great way to end the day.