Conversations

The remaining councilors, six in all, looked fearfully at each other. They stood frozen, wondering what Rumplestiltskin would do now that he was alone with them.

Rumplestiltskin clapped his hands together and laughed humorously, "That was quite the speech, wasn't it?" Before anyone could even think of answering him, he continued, suddenly serious, "Now it's my turn."

He began to pace back and forth, the heels of his boots echoing throughout the hall. He clasped his hands in front of him and looked at each man pointedly before he speaking, "First of all, this deal is between myself and the Queen. I don't particularly care if you like it or not, you have no say in the matter." The men looked to each other worriedly, and Rumple continued, "If you want your town under my protection, you will accept that Belle and I have a deal and no one breaks a deal with the Dark One. Understood?"

At first everyone remained quiet, but after a moment, a man, who looked to be in his late forties spoke up, "Dark One," he began, "I believe I speak for the rest of the council when I say that we understand the deal between yourself and Her Majesty, however," he cleared his throat and continued, "Our laws dictate that no one may have the title of king unless he is an heir, or marries the princess."

Rumplestiltskin laughed again and observed the man. He was tall and well-built, with long blond hair tied back with a strip of leather. He looked young, though not quite as young as Gaston, who stood to his left, with an air of pride about him.

"Did you not hear the Queen?" Rumple asked, his voice shrill. "I am not, nor do I care for the title of king. I am the Dark One, and I think that title commands more respect, don't you?" His tone was light, but everyone knew that he was serious. "I don't want to be a king," he explained again, "I'm just making sure the town I've invested so much in is run properly."

"Do you not trust our lady?" the man from before asked foolishly. A few of the other councilmen groaned slightly at the outspoken foolishness of their brother.

Rumplestiltskin spun and faced the man, "What's your name?" He asked.

"S-Sir Maxwell, Dark One," the man stuttered.

"Well, Maxwell," Rumple exclaimed, "Let me let tell you something." He turned and addressed the other five men, "And all of you listen carefully. I will only say this once," his voice lowered, almost to a growl, "None of you have any real power here; not anymore. I can destroy all of you with the wave of my hand," he paused to demonstrate, and a few of the men jumped back at the motion. "Let it be known that should any of you so much as think of going against Belle because of her association with me, I will not hesitate to give you a firsthand demonstration of just why I am known as the Dark One."

He continued to pace, hands gesturing wildly as he spoke, "You wanted Belle to take her rightful place on the throne, and she shall, but remember that it is only with my blessing. Belle may be queen, but," he gestured between himself and the six men, "but she isn't here at the moment, and that means I'm in charge."

He stared hard at them. "Am I understood?" he asked, and even if he hadn't been, no one would have said otherwise. The men all nodded in agreement and Rumple smiled and laughed his twisted laugh. "Excellent!" He walked over to the seat that had once belonged to Maurice and sat down, crossing his legs at the knee. "I think we're going to get along just fine," he said with a wicked grin.

The men merely stared at him, no one daring to disagree.

-000-

Belle and Leonardo walked slowly down the hallway. Although Belle had grown up surrounded by these walls, she looked around her as if seeing them for the first time. Leonardo watched her carefully and asked, "Are you all right, my dear?"

Belle looked away from the tapestries and paintings and glanced at Leonardo. He was old, older than any of the other members of the council, though he often times seemed more spry and energetic than those half his age. He'd been on her father's council for as long as Belle could remember. A simple merchant in his younger days, Leonardo was privy to all kinds of knowledge of the trade routes and the neighboring towns and kingdoms. He was well-known throughout the land and folks everywhere enjoyed doing business with him. When Maurice had asked him to join the council, to represent the common man and traders of the land, Leonardo had turned over his trade to his son, and entered the king's company with a kindness and wisdom that had enchanted the king. They quickly became dearest friends, Maurice looking to Maurice as the father figure his own father had not been. Leonardo was friend to the family, friend to the people, and Belle knew that if she could convince him to trust Rumplestiltskin, the entire kingdom would follow.

"I've been better," she whispered honestly, offering him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Leonardo placed a wrinkled hand on the small of her back and steered her to the right, another long hallway in front of them.

"He became ill a little over a month after you left," Leonardo began, running his free hand through his greying beard thoughtfully. "I, and the physician thought it was a simple cold. You know he seemed to catch one every year," Leonardo said fondly and Belle couldn't help but smile.

"We would have written, but he did not want to worry you over something so trivial. We did not even know if you would receive a letter," he explained. "When he got worse, it was so sudden none of us really knew what to do. He'd been trying to keep to his schedule, but grew weaker by the day. I caught him coughing up blood one day, but who knows how long that had been going on. He didn't want anyone to fuss over him and I think it was partly because keeping busy was the only way for him to keep from missing you."

Belle felt tears building in her eyes, but nodded for Leonardo to continue. "Five days ago," he said, "The king commented that he was feeling particularly unwell. He collapsed not much longer after that. The physicians attended to him but after a while they realized he was growing worse. He was so weak and couldn't keep anything down. I'd never seen him like that before." Leonardo paused here and sniffled. They stopped walking and Belle turned to the old man and wrapped her arms around him, letting her tears fall. The two stayed that way for some time before Leonardo pulled away, laughing at himself.

"Forgive an old man, dear." He said, pulling out a handkerchief and offering it to Belle. She refused and with a shrug he blew his nose into it, before tucking it away in his pocket.

"When did he pass?" Belle asked.

"Two days ago." Leonardo confirmed. "The moment it happened, I wrote you that letter and sent William on his way. I didn't know if it would do any good, but I wanted him to get there as quick as possible. I figured if the Dark One would let you return at all, he would do it by magic and you would arrive shortly."

Belle gave him a strange look. "How did you know-"

He smiled, "Old man's intuition," he said mischievously.

Belle looked down and sighed, "I should have been here."

"You made a deal," he said gently.

"I know, but you were in the room when I agreed to leave with Rumplestiltskin. Papa didn't want me to go. I barely even said goodbye to him. It was not the sweetest of partings." Belle said sadly. "I didn't even tell him how much I loved him." She sniffed and her hand lifted to cover her mouth.

"Now I'll have none of that," Leonardo chided. "Your father knew how much you loved him. You leaving with that creature the way you did proved it to him more than anything."

Confused, Belle asked, "How?"

Leonardo began guiding them down the hallway again. "You had a good life here, my lady," Leonardo explained, "And you gave it all up to ensure your people were protected. It wasn't ideal, but it was selfless and although your father disagreed with it he told me, on more than one occasion, that he had never been more proud of you than in that moment."

Belle smiled through her tears, "He was?"

"Oh yes, dear!" Leonardo exclaimed, "He told anyone who would listen of the selfless act of his daughter and how she stood up against all opposition and sacrificed everything for her people. He made you out to be the grandest hero Avonlea has ever seen. He loved you so much, and," he paused and took a breath before continuing, "His last words were for you. He wanted me to tell you that he loved you and was proud of the strong woman you have become and that you will make a fine queen. Though I don't think he would approve of your partner," He chuckled softly at his quip, and Belle let out a small laugh in agreement.

"I don't think many will approve of this decision. But the deal is made and I will not change my mind. It seemed fair to me."

They came upon the door to the chamber that held her father's body and Leonardo took Belle's hand in his. "They have begun preparing him for the funeral but I told them to expect you."

Belle nodded. "Thank you, Leonardo. For everything." She went to open the door but Leonardo's question stopped her.

"Do you trust him, Your Highness? Rumplestiltskin, I mean?"

Belle was silent for a moment, then met Leonardo's eyes. "Yes," she whispered. "I do."

He regarded her for a moment, studying her expression. He had been against calling the Dark One from the beginning, but Maurice had insisted. It was a desperate plan for a desperate man and Leonardo knew the kinds of trouble desperation brought upon people. But when he'd seen the Dark One for the first time, watched how he behaved and interacted with others, saw how firm and yet gentle he'd been as he'd escorted Belle out of the room, he'd known something was different. He wasn't sure if it was intuition or an old man's foolish hope that things were not always what they appeared to be, but to see the way the two of them interacted with each other, the respect that the Dark One had shown her in the chamber room just moments ago, he had a feeling there was more between his Queen and the Dark One than was being let on. Could it be possible that they were friends?

Or something more?

He continued to watch her, and she stood, unwavering at his scrutiny. Though she would never say it, not to him, he knew she was challenging him to speak against her choice or against Rumplestiltskin, and her determination to defend the Dark One's presence to anyone who dared speak otherwise was exactly what he'd needed. "Then I do as well." He gestured to the door and said, "I'll leave you to it, then. I'd better go make sure the Dark One hasn't turned the rest of the council to dust." He began to walk away when Belle called out, "He won't do that. He prefers snails."

Leonardo turned around to comment, but Belle was already gone.

End Chapter Three

Thanks to Sirensong24 for looking this over!

Thanks to everyone who has read, liked, and reviewed this story. It really does mean a lot to me.

Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time. I do own Leonardo.