Chapter 4: round and round we go where we stop nobody knows
Belle watched excitedly as the hat spun around and around on her bedroom floor, this was the first time she had ever gone with her lover on a trip. However, that excitement was soured with the knowledge that this trip was not for enjoyment but for safety reason. She squeezed Jefferson's hand as they began to run and jump into the swirling purple smoke.
"Now ...that was not so bad" she heard him saying. In response she leaned over the bushes and began puking up her morning lunch. Belle had always thought she was adventurous but apparently even she had her limits. "It was a once in a lifetime experience," she said quickly wiping off her mouth and looking at the lovely cottage that was to be their home over the next few months.
She walked over to where Jefferson stood and put and arm around him, they were home. "It's lovely, how ever did you find this place?" Belle asked with curiosity. Belle felt like there was a slight hesitation before she heard him say "an acquaintance of mine picked it out." Before she could ask which acquaintance she felt herself being swopped off the ground and into her lover's arms. The question was forgotten for the moment as she was gracefully carried over the threshold of their temporary abode.
Belle slowly looked around the inside of the quaint cottage all was where it should be except there were two twin size beds. Apparently Jefferson had been watching her reaction to the room because before she could voice the thought he said "I did not tell my acquaintance we were a couple." She felt vexed at the situation, since the place was cloaked in magic she thought they could be like a normal couple living together. He drew her out of her thought by stating "it was for your safety and our child's that I did not tell him." She knew she should be grateful to whoever this mysterious dark magic wielding stranger was, so she would let the topic drop for now.
Although Belle deeply enjoyed playing housewife to her beloved Jefferson, she could not help but feel with each and every passing day an increased worry and dread for her father and his kingdom. She tried to distract herself first by livening up the cottage, and then when that was complete she would go on long walks to collect firewood, basically anything to keep her mind and body busy. However, the pregnancy began to slow her down, until all she could do was sit and read by the lake nostos.
Upon the birth of their daughter, Grace, Belle's anxiety had finally begun to recede into the background to be replaced with absolute joy. However, the only way to calm down baby grace was to sit by the lake and have one or both of her parents read her a bedtime story. One warm winter night Jefferson was reading aloud to Grace as Belle cradled her, neither noticed that they were being watched by a scaly green monster.
Belle was the first to notice a strange green scaly man start to approach them; however she did not move as she believed them to be cloaked. When she saw him bow to her and giggle she knew that something was immensely wrong. She felt herself begin to panic as the man continued to inch towards her, which in-turn caused the baby to begin to cry.
She heard the man giggle, "What a lovely lake too bad it's frozen over, must be quiet or we will wake the sleeping beauty" as the ice began to crack under his feet. All the while the man never took his eyes off her, she felt drawn to those eyes in a way she could not explain. He seemed very powerful, which was only confirmed when she saw Jefferson briskly walking towards the man,"Rumpelstiltskin, what a lovely surprise please come join my lovely family and I as we enjoy the last remaining days of winter."
Her lover then gestured for the man to join them besides the warm fire. The man looked unease to say the least but he ended up sitting on royal arm chair, that had not been there before. All of the sudden it dawned on Belle that this was the man that had created the clocked cottage, but since winter was now almost over was here to help them return home. A silent tear ran down her cheek, only to be instantly wiped away by the green scaled man.
"A toast, to new beginnings and memories that last a lifetime" she heard him say as suddenly a cup of hot chocolate appeared in her hands. She was perplexed about whether it was safe to drink the offered beverage, but when she saw Jefferson take a sip she knew that it was alright. Belle then followed taking a hearty swig of her drink.
Belle could barely hear the words of the green scaled man over the sharp crackling of ice as she too began to pass out. The words sounded something like, "your too late I have already fulfilled your husband's plan. If you could not get a happy ending why did you think they would get a happy ending?"