Belle watched in memorization as the creature—Rumple—swam around in the shallow waters. She swayed her feet in the salty water, causing small waves to lap over his tail.
She adjusted the towel around her shoulders before reaching behind and pulling her bag forward, pulling out one of her journals so she could finally interview him. Her scientific side wanted to question him on the boat attacks, find out his motive and convince him to stop or at least let her help him find a solution. Her more imaginative side, the part of her that was giddy to have a creature of legend swimming laps at her feet and watching her with awe and openness, wanted to learn everything possible about him.
"So," she began her interview, "I was wondering if you could tell me about the boats."
Rumple paused his waddling, swimming up to the shore and spreading out on his stomach in the sand. "Boats?"
"The things you've been attacking." Belle specified like a firm school teacher. And like a school boy, Rumple ducked his head in shame at being caught.
Belle smiled comfortingly. "I just want to know why you're doing it. I can help you if I know your reason. That's my job."
"The ink." He growled lowly.
"Ink?" Belle inquired. "Like, from squids or octopuses?"
Rumple shook his head. "The…boats? They drop it in the water. It hurts my eyes and gets on my tail. It hurts the turtles and birds."
"Oil." Belle clarified, scribbling in her journal. "Is that why you attack the boats?"
Rumple nodded. "When they stop, the ink…oil…stops."
"So you destroy them so that they don't come back." Belle mused, closing her journal. "I know someone who can help." She said. "I'll go talk to him, but you have to promise me you won't attack any more boats.
"But…"
"I know you're not trying to hurt anyone, but each time you destroy one of those boats, a lot of people go hungry."
Rumple felt anger tense inside him, not at Belle, but at what she was asking. Each time those boats dumped their black death in the waters, a lot of his fellow sea life went hungry or died before hunger could get to them. Didn't Belle realize that?
Belle sighed when he shifted away, defiance in his eyes.
"Fine." She began to pack up and Rumple felt the familiar loneliness seep in.
"Will you come back?" he asked quietly.
"I'll try to get back tomorrow." She stated, rolling up her blanket and putting her journal and other gear back in her bag.
"Bye." He said lowly as she trekked up the sand dune. He didn't want to fight with Belle, didn't want her look at him as a monster and felt the need to please her. But he also had a fierce loyalty towards his fellow ocean life, creatures who couldn't fight for their selves from the wicked scum that was man.
Belle wasn't like them though. She couldn't be.
He'd tell her that when she came back tomorrow.
-,-,-,-
Belle didn't give Merlin and Ariel the complete details of her adventure, simply told them that she found the reason for the attacks and that they needed to work quickly to prevent another. They worked through the night, throwing together the evidence they had collected the last few weeks as well as a fabricated report Belle typed together.
They presented their findings to the mayor, all on edge for her response.
The mayor read over the report quietly, one of her well-maintained eye brows arched in emotionless discontent.
"I must say," the mayor stated when she closed the folder. "I had my doubts Dr. French, but I'm glad to see you found the problem. I would have never guessed mating eels would be attacking boats out of hormone disruption. Excellent work."
Belle released a breath of relief. She also felt a bit of pride that the mayor finally called her by her professional title.
"Thank you, Madame Mayor."
"But," the mayor prompted, causing the group to tense again, "I don't see a solution to the problem mentioned."
"I've concluded that if the boats seize their activities around the area of the attack that the eels will eventually tether off. Or better yet, that the owners of the boats need to install a filter into their tanks to better prevent the oil leakage that's bothering the eels. I have friend in Australia who can help with that."
The mayor frowned at this. "That area of the bay is highly profitable with catch. The boats will have to venture further out into the seas to make up for what they would lose."
"But they'd come home with an abundant haul and their ships fully intact, Madame Mayor." Ariel perked in. "It's a smaller price to pay for the safety of your fishermen."
The mayor looked to two scientists over, and Belle prayed to all higher powers that she would buy the explanation and let Belle move on.
"This isn't their first rodeo, Regina." Merlin chimed in. "If they say this is what you need to do, then you need to do it."
"I wasn't talking to you." The mayor hissed. Merlin simply smirked.
The mayor sighed and gathered her things. "Very well, I will allow this notion on one condition."
Belle eyed the mayor with distrust and uncertainty. "And that would be what, Madame Mayor."
The mayor smirked in secret enjoyment for the young biologist's discomfort. "You have to bring your findings and solution before the town at the next meeting, which is tonight."
Belle's stomach dropped. Her public speaking skills were decent at best, but it would be nearly impossible to keep the details of her fake story in order if she had to answer questions from a town of angry fishermen.
Just as she was about to protest, Merlin placed a calming hand on her shoulder.
"She can do it Regina. We'll see you tonight."
"Just her and Miss Benson will be enough company, thank you." Regina turned on her heel after the snarl, leaving behind the smirking journalist and two equally anxious biologists.
As soon as the door closed, Ariel slapped Merlin on the shoulder. "What was that!"
"That," Merlin defended, rubbing his shoulder, "was showing her majesty that you're not one of her subjects."
"That's a very odd analogy."
"But accurate." Belle chimed in, pacing. "She already thinks we're incompetent, we can't have the entire town thinking that too. They'll never stop." She paused her pacing and turned to her comrades. Ariel was staring at her with uncertainty and concern.
"What is it?"
"I was just wondering if you think we're incompetent too."
Belle felt a burst of hurt and panic implode in her head. "What are you talking about?"
Ariel grabbed the report folder and held it out to Ariel. "Mating eels? Belle, you and I know that if eels were the culprit for this there would not be nearly the amount of damage there is. Not to mention eels don't mate outside of warm waters; it's April in Maine, Belle!"
"What is going on with you lately? You've been going to the beach by yourself, staying there all day, and now you're throwing some bullshit report out there."
"I know it seems crazy Ariel-"
"It seems lazy, Belle."
Belle flinched at the remark but held her tongue.
"Are you just bored with this assignment or is there something in those waters that you're not telling me about?"
Belle's tongue was heavy with the truth, but she couldn't let the words fall just yet. She had to secure Rumple's safety first.
"Ariel, Merlin, I promise if I survive tonight, I will show you everything."
"Why can't you tell me now?" Ariel miffed.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
Ariel shook her head. "If that's what you think, fine." With that, the redhead turned and stalked out of the basement, slamming the door behind her.
Belle felt tears sting her eyes. She and Ariel had never fought before.
Merlin cleared his throat and Belle wiped her eyes.
"Don't take it too hard. You know how she is." He said comfortingly. "Just focus on what you have to do and the rest will sort itself out."
Belle smiled at him, thankful he was always the level head among them.
"How did you become such a peace-maker?"
Merlin smirked, but there was an intense sadness dragging down the corners of his mouth.
"Let's just say this isn't the first time I've had to play mediator between two feuding women."
Belle sensed a story there, but judging by the pain in his eyes, it was not the time nor the place to ask questions.
"I… think I'll go lie down, piece together what I'm going to say."
Merlin nodded. "Meeting's at 8, so don't be late. I'll be covering it, you know."
"Yeah, okay." she promised as she headed up the stairs. She paused at the kitchen door and briefly considered going back to the docks. She didn't like how she had left things with her new friend. Belle would be the first to admit that her patience was one of the first things to go when she was frustrated. And really, she had been asking a lot from Rumple after knowing him for a few hours.
Belle sighed exhaustedly and continued up the stairs. She'd apologize to him in the morning, and maybe even take him a pudding cup or two. For now, she had a much-dreaded speech to plan.
-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-
Several hours later Belle sat between Merlin and Ariel in the crowd of bored citizens and waited for the mayor to introduce her.
She started playing with her folder of evidence, not even understanding what the mayor was saying now. If this went southside, Rumple's life could be in danger. There was too much to lose for her to mess up.
Suddenly, Merlin's hand slid over one of hers, giving it a firm squeeze.
"You have nothing to be nervous about." He whispered, leaning closer so that they wouldn't be heard.
"I really don't want to be verbally thrown off stage if I say the wrong thing." She confided, trying not to think about how warm his hand was.
"The people here may be aggravated, but they'll listen to reason if it means feeding their families."
"I hope so." Belle sighed.
The mayor cleared her throat, glaring at the whisperers.
"Dr. French?" she barked. "If you and Mr. Knight are done, the town would like to hear your proposal now."
Belle blushed and released Merlin's hands, hurrying to the podium as the mayor stepped down, Ariel just behind her. She took a moment to breathe and let the dizziness that overtook her head to clear.
"Good evening." Belle greeted, her eyes not quite meeting the crowd. "My name is Belle French of the APRF, Aquatic Protection and Research Facility. As most of you know, my partner and I have been stationed here for roughly three weeks to investigate the boat attacks on the harbor.
"Our research concludes that the attacker is actually mating saltwater eels, who attack the boats out of hormone aggravation."
She paused as the room erupted in hushed astonishment, allowing Belle a moment to compose herself.
"Ma'am," a thick man in fisherman's gear stood. "I've been fishing these waters for 25 years, and I ain't ever hear of no eel attack."
Belle felt a wave of panic at the accusation, but she had prepared for such a remark.
"Our research suggests that because of the early summer, the waters are warm enough to induce early mating. And since eels are not used to the boats during their mating season, their instincts are triggered to attack."
As the room conversed on this new information, Belle turned to Merlin who gave her a thumbs-up. Despite the encouragement, Belle still felt her palms sweat.
"How do we stop them?" another fisherman asked.
Belle rifled through her papers and held up one with a picture of a filter device on it. "I have a colleague in Australia who has an invention for just this problem. It's a small filter that catches spilling oil from the boats and-"
"How much does it cost?" someone from the crowd shouted out.
Belle twitched at the interruption. "With the cost of materials and labor, each filter will be roughly $400 but-"
The room erupted with discontent. Belle gripped the podium, holding on to her patience for as long a she could.
Ariel grabbed the gavel off the stand and banged it until the room settled.
"People of Storybrooke," Ariel boomed, "while this might seem like a steep price to pay, there's a huge payoff in the long run."
With room quieted, Belle stepped aside to allow Ariel full access to the podium.
"When I was a kid, my dad worked so much that my family only got a week of vacation time a year. He always chose Storybrooke because it was so homey and beautiful. We used to go down to the beach and the little fish would swim right up to us. It was magical, and I always said I would live here when I grew up."
Belle couldn't help but smile at Ariel's nostalgia. It was refreshing to see her so animated
"That didn't quite happen, but when I found out about the issues going on in the harbor, I knew I had to help. Because I love this town and it's uniqueness. And I want to preserve it anyway I can."
Ariel turned back to Belle and nodded her back in.
Belle took her spot by Ariel, feeling more confident than she had all night.
"My colleague is a brilliant inventor, and I'm sure with some negotiation we can talk him down in his price."
She watched as the towns folks mumbled amongst their selves, some of them shaking their heads in agreement for the proposition.
"You've all been so patient with us, so I promise you," Belle finished, "my team and I will not leave until the problem is solved." She turned to the smiling Ariel and saw raw passion in her eyes. "We'll do whatever we can to help preserve this town, for everyone here and for the future. Thank you."
Belle closed her notes as the crowd applauded. She could feel her cheeks heating and dared to look up. Merlin had shot from his seat and whistled with his applause, leaving his notepad in his chair. From the other side of the room, the mayor glared at his loud, unprofessional salute. Still, she rose from her chair with the grace of a queen and applauded with the rest of the group, waiting until Belle and Ariel left the stage before she retook her place at the podium.
Ariel pulled Belle behind the stage until they could just barely hear the mayor making her closing speech.
"You really are a horrible speaker." Ariel teased, pulling her friend into a hug.
Belle returned the affection. "Ariel, listen. About earlier…"
"Say no more." The redhead insisted. "I trust you Belle. No matter what's really out there, you found a solution. That's the reason we're here."
Belle nodded, the guilt in her stomach still heavy but not nearly as dense as before. She would tell her friend the whole truth eventually, but only when Rumple and the rest of the aquatic life was safe.
"But," Ariel continued. "You do owe me for all the headaches."
Belle groaned. "Don't tell me…"
"Girls day!" Ariel shrilled. "We've been here for an over a week and haven't been into town yet."
"Yeah but our work-"
"Will continue once your guy gets here." Ariel promised. "We deserve a break. You deserve a break."
Belle chewed her lip nervously. Spending the day with Ariel would mean that she wouldn't see Rumple tomorrow.
"It'll fun! Shopping, a good lunch. Maybe we can go sailing?"
Belle craved to reject Ariel's offer, but her eyes looked desperate. She needed time away from their make-shift lab in Merlin's basement, needed time with her friend.
"Okay." Belle agreed reluctantly.
Ariel shrilled, gripping Belle's hands until they stung.
"Great! I'm going to tell Merlin!"
Belle watched her friend leave and wish she could do the same. Was Rumple even waiting for her or was he too perturbed with her from earlier? She wanted to apologize at least, but now with Ariel mapping out their day, that would be near-impossible.
She chewed on her lip and followed Ariel to the concession.
I'm sorry Rumple.
