The anxious sound of fingernails hitting a tabletop filled the room as Rumpelstiltskin stared out the window coated in a layer of frost, eyes gazing at the blinding white wall trying to see through it to the other side. He had taken in this girl with half-baked plans on his mind, but could he really go through with them? Sure he had picked out the little crumbling tower for his home beyond the wall and when he went out scouting he'd do some work on it but it was nothing permanent. Besides, could he desert the Night's Watch? Sure, all the boys around here were annoying but they were still his brothers and as much as he hated to say it his vows are binding… every part of them. Hanging his head in his hands, the man's mind was a storm of thoughts and ideas yet none of them seemed to be the answer he needed or wanted. He couldn't keep Belle hidden forever… could even keep Belle period? He had been filled with adrenaline when he met her and hadn't been thinking straight and now look where that brought him. Maybe if the girl stopped being so damn nice to him this would be an easier decision to make. He could still see her smile in his mind and hear the way her voice wrapped around his name. Now that was a creature Rumple never quite managed to understand- women.
By the light of a single candle mounted on a desk pressed between the shelves of the library, Belle read of the adventures of the black brothers. There was so much to take in- their battles with wildings and beasts only seen beyond the wall, and how the great barrier of ice was built piece by piece until it had reached the height it stands at today. After the scarceness of books in Mole's Town, this was a dream for the girl who as soon as she finished one book took little time to find herself enthralled in another. As she was just starting the history of the 57th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch the sound of boots on stone just outside of the door pulled her straight from her reading.
Jumping up from her chair, Belle leaned over to blow out the candle before darting through the shelves to the supply closet Rumple had told her about. However, the front door opened before she reached it and the girl pressed her back against a bookcase full of parchment, looking around the corner at the two brothers who had walked in.
"I hate this place," the larger of the two men said, his eyes darting around the room. "It's creepy."
" Creepy? Son, you might be in the wrong place. The Night's Watch is not for the faint of heart," the shorter man punctuated his sentence with a raspy laugh. His back was hunched over and the sounds of his footfalls were uneven against the floor.
"I'm a steward not a ranger for Gods' sake! I shouldn't have to be brave," the younger one muttered, stepping towards the end of the room Belle was huddled in. You might think the girl was scared, and, true, her heart was beating like it might burst from her chest but a grin took a hold of her lips. She was finally seeing new people, and she couldn't help but grin at their conversation.
"Well you were brave enough when you stole that hunk of cheese that brought you here!" the older man gave another rough laugh that eventually turned into a coughing fit.
"Oh shut up, old man. Like you know what it means to be brave," the heavy thumps of the man's boots were coming closer down the aisle and Belle tip toed to the other side of her shelving and snuck around the corner, inching towards the closet that would finally conceal her. As she neared her hiding place, she stepped on a rotting floor board, sending a loud creak through the whole room. "Did you hear that?!"
"Of course I did! I'm old not deaf!" the old man snapped. "This is an old castle, sweet summer child- it creaks sometimes."
Belle launched forward again, moving as fast as she could without making any noise before reaching the closet. Her hand went to the handle but found that the door was stuck. She tugged on it as silently as she could but it wouldn't budge. The girl's excitement was turning to fear as the men's footsteps roamed around the room.
"Hey, this candle is still warm," the younger man said, his voice drifting over from where Belle had been reading.
"You're imagining things sonny, nothing is warm here," the usual laugh followed the man's statement. Belle yanked at the door's handle again and the door jerked free from its frame, but the bottom scrapped against the floor filling the room with the goose bump inducing scratching noises. Cringing, she quickly slipped into the darkness of the closet just as the younger man turned to the corner to investigate the sound.
"Did you get the maps yet?" the boy asked. From her hiding spot, Belle could see the boy's face clearer now. He didn't look much older than herself, his worried face covered in pox marks and his fingers anxiously fidgeting with the edge of his cloak.
"I'm getting them, I'm getting them- don't rush me, boy!" the old man shouted from across the room. The younger of the brothers turned to look at him and Belle to her opportunity, taking a hold of the handle on the inside of the door and slamming the wood shut. She could hear the younger brother squeal before footsteps slammed against the floor and the front door swung open on its rusty hinges. The old man's laughter filled the room, followed by the sound of his uneven stride and the clatter of the door closing behind him.
Giggling to herself, Belle pushed against the wood of the closet door, eager to return to her reading only to find it stuck again, only this time with her inside of it. Despite all of her efforts to open the door, nothing proved fruitful. Frustrated, Belle sat on the floor, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her cape around herself. Fuming at herself for even getting stuck in such a position, Belle put her feet up and gave the door one final ravage kick which sent the door flying open and Belle's back into the supply shelves. A book flew from one of the top shelves and landed right in her lap. Surprised by the chain of events, Belle looked in shock at the large leather bound edition in front of her. It was an old book, but not dusty as the other things in the closet were. It must be used quite often to have not collected a layer of the stuff, and it seemed to be well taken care of. Most of the bindings of the books in the library were worn down and falling off of their editions, this one was obviously old but much better looking. The front of the leather bound book was covered in a language she didn't know and when the girl threw open the book she found it full of odd symbols and recipes and… are those spells?
Flipping through the pages, Belle became certain that this was no ordinary history book, but some kind of magician's book, but who's? Rumpelstiltskin said no one goes into the supplies closet… of course that doesn't exempt him. It was while she was still skimming the pages of a certain potion when the main door to the library swung open and revealed the very man she was thinking of standing in the door way.
Rumple was horrified to see his best held secret out in the open and in the hands of Belle no doubt. She must know what people do to those who practice magic- it was what got him into the Night's Watch as a boy in the first place. Her blue eyes lifted to meet his and while he expected a look of disgust she was there with a kind smile yet again. It was almost obnoxious how gentle she was all the time, but after a hard cold life it was relaxing to let his guard down once and awhile.
"This is yours?" she asked shyly, lifting the book up to him. Rumple had just realized his mouth had been hanging open and he quickly shut it and gave the girl a curt nod. "Well, do you think you can show me something?"
Rumple lifted an eyebrow at the girl. She wanted him to… show her some of the taboo magic he knew? "Uh, sure here… let me see."
Rumple picked up a piece of blank parchment from a nearby pile, crumpling it into his hands, the entire ball was concealed in his fist, his eyes flicked to Belle's for a moment before opening his fingers, revealing a blue rose in its place.
"It's beautiful," Belle said, smiling at the flower. Rumple found himself enthralled by the girl's grin yet again. How is it that a person can be so… good? He had never known such tenderness existed in the world.
"Here, it's yours," kneeling down to her level, Rumple held the rose out to her. Thin fingers took ahold of the stem, brushing against Rumple's own calloused ones. There was a tightness in the man's chest he couldn't explain, and a dreamy fog filled his head. He almost felt drunk, but in a much lighter, much happier way.
"Thank you. It's truly magnificent what you can do," Belle said, her eyes lighting up and her face flushed with life. Rumple's fingers itched to reach forward and caress her cheek but he held back. Self control was something he had learned in his years on the Wall, yet it was harder now than he ever remembered it being. He had a vow to uphold, he couldn't start going back on his word now… could he?
"Most people would say differently," Rumple gave a forced laugh, his eyes wandering around the room, refusing to fall on the gentle smile that was already burned into his mind.
"Well, I guess I'm not most people," the nervous giggle that ended her sentence was enough to make his gaze stop on her again.
"No, I don't think you are," Rumple allowed himself to smile at his companion, watching as she admired the rose he conjured up for her. Why did it feel like someone was sitting on his chest? It was hard to breath and his heart was beating faster than when he first stood atop the wall.
"You're not like most people either," Belle giggled hiding behind the flower, which only made the blue in her eyes stand out even more.
"I guess not," was there always this little space between them? When had it gotten so warm in the usual cold Castle? So many questions were unfolding in his head and in an instant they were all gone when Belle pressed her lips to his own. Rumple could not remember the last time he had been kissed, or even been in the presence of a woman and now his brain was full of her smell, and the softness of her lips. They slowly pulled apart and Rumple looked down at his black attire and was reminded of his vows all over again. Abruptly climbing to his feet, the man looked down at Belle- the thief he was both grateful and regretful for finding and shook his head.
"I can't" and with that he was gone again, leaving Belle alone in the library with the single rose that glistened with frost.