"Is there a reason we're hiding?" Gaston whispered next to her. The question was earned. She had a plan but she knew that she had to keep it to herself. It wasn't just her father that wouldn't want her to do this, but her mother as well. On her orders they'd left the ogre where it was in the pit, she'd assured him it was safe there and the pair of them had quickly returned to the castle. They'd been on their way up to the library when she heard a familiar tone of voice and pushed Gaston behind a column.

"It's my mother," she explained listening carefully. She couldn't exactly make out the words or who she was talking to, but her tone was low and authoritative. It was probably just a servant asking about what she wanted for dinner plans that night. Nothing to be worried about so long as she didn't catch the pair of them. She wasn't good at lying and not only would her mother not like what she was about to do, she'd been told dozens of times not to retrieve what she needed to retrieve in order to pull this off.

"Okay…come on…" she whispered when her mother was finally gone. The pair of them entered the library but not unnoticed.

"Belle," the librarian nodded. She froze at his greeting. "You'll be happy to know that the servants have just returned the books you borrowed last week. They found them lying out in the conservatory this time."

She blushed as she found the pile. She liked the Librarian, but their only problem was her thoughtlessness when she finished a dearly loved book. Sometimes she just liked to set it aside and smile, basking in the glow of a happy ending. And, sometimes, after she was done "basking", she just happened to get up and forget the book was there.

"Sorry…they were really good books though!" she offered, hoping to satisfy him.

"Good books deserve good treatment. The library is where they belong when they are not being read. Try to remember that in the future."

She nodded and was happy to see the librarian pick up a stack of books and step away to excuse himself before looking back at her…and then over her shoulder. She glanced over and found that he was staring at Gaston. Had he just now noticed that she wasn't alone?

"Did you need something?" he asked looking back at her.

"No," she answered shaking her head. "I know my way around well enough." The librarian looked over at Gaston and then back to her again. But he must have found the answer fair because eventually he gave a sigh and left for his office. Perfect.

"Stay right here," she whispered leaving Gaston by the table. "I'm going to grab something to help us. I'll be right back."

Back into the shelves she went. She passed the adventures she usually loved to read, the fictions she got lost in, the mysteries that captivated her, even the fairy tales. At the very back of the library, in a room that was usually kept locked but for once in her life left unlocked there was an entire room for magical books. She'd only been allowed in a few times in her life and never without her mother looking down at her and telling her never to use these books on her own because they were dangerous, but one of the visits she'd made here a few months ago was with her mother when she'd finished a special "project" and placed it securely in this room. Then, just like every other time, she'd been told not to look in the book alone because of the information that it held but desperate times called for desperate measures and if the library and her mother both wanted to keep her out so badly then they should have remembered to lock the door! She located the green book now easily enough, right where her mother had placed it months ago and quietly smuggled it out of the room.

When she returned she found Gaston perched upon the same table that she'd left him at. "I found it!" she whispered setting it on the table beside Gaston.

"An Alphabetized Inventory of Magical Antiquities" Gaston read aloud before she opened it and began to page through, hoping something would catch her eye. "Sounds a bit dense."

"No!" she corrected amazed he couldn't see the potential already. She'd only caught a couple of glimpses inside and knew that her mother had done a wonderful and amazing thing with this book! "This is a wonderful book! It's a record of every magical item in the Kingdom."

"And you think one of them will tell us what this ogre is after?"

She didn't say that exactly but…something like that. At the very least that was what she was hoping would happen. "I'm sure of it! That's why my mother keeps these records, for emergencies like this," she explained turning back to the book. When he didn't respond her eyes scanned the pages, hoping to find something, anything that might help them. If they couldn't talk to the ogre, maybe they could find something to let them see into his mind.

"Your mother must be quite a woman, to have raised a daughter with this much…fire in her!" Gaston finally commented from his perch.

Fire? Really? Did he really think that she had fire? Like the heroines in her books? She smiled and tried to hide the blush she felt creeping into her cheeks with a small laugh. "Well…she was the one who taught me to love books. Starting…" she glanced to her right and was not surprised by what she found. The books that the servants had located were safe and sound upon the table, but there was one in particular that she was happy to see, that she'd be sure to take from the library yet again the first moment she could. She picked Her Handsome Hero up and looked it over lovingly. "With this one!" she finally concluded before nearly shoving it into Gaston's hands.

"Her Handsome Hero!" he proclaimed valiantly as she went back to looking through the record. As much as she'd love to spend all this time talking about books, something that Samuel didn't even like to do, she assured herself that there was plenty of time for it later, maybe lots of time considering how well this was all going! But for now there was a job to do. "Interesting. I wouldn't have pegged you for a fan of cheap romance."

Her jaw dropped as his near insult pulled her away from the book once more. "No! No," she cried with a giggle as she yanked it out of his hands again. He had it all wrong. "This is not like that. This book is about compassion and forgiveness, the things that truly make a hero. You um…you can have it…if you like?" she suggested looking him over. She didn't know why her throat felt tight at the invitation. Possibly because she had never volunteered to give the book away before, or simply because she hadn't really planned to give this book away, the words had simply popped out of her mouth. Of course she wasn't worried about losing it, there were nearly a dozen copies in the castle and it wasn't as though she'd never given books away before. But she'd never offered to give this particular book away before to anyone! Not even Samuel! Was that why it felt more important than anything she'd ever done? Why did she feel like she was waiting on the edge of her seat to find out if he'd take it or not? Why did she feel like it mattered far more than any gift she'd ever given?

He didn't take his eyes off her, merely continued to stare into her eyes before she felt the weight of the book vanish from her hands. "If this is indeed your favorite book I shall read every word," he vowed so solemnly she suddenly had to look away. "Twice…" she heard him add as she let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding onto. Was it possible this had actually worked out? That she'd really found someone who valued her intellect, her love for books, her "fire" more than her title? "Because I have a feeling…" she glanced up as he continued on and she felt her breath catch again as she realized he was staring at her. "I have finally found a woman of substance."

He leaned forward and she realized that his lean was more than that, he was purposefully moving closer not just to her, but her face. Her mouth. He meant to kiss her. Her heart raced and for a moment she felt frozen because she had never been kissed, not the way the characters in her books kissed in all her life! Would she be good at it? Bad at it? How exactly were two humans supposed to do something like…that?!

Too afraid to even try she pulled away and looked back at the book she had in her hands. A woman of substance, if he really believed that he'd found that in her then he shouldn't mind waiting for another time, waiting until she knew him a little bit better, waiting until all the danger had passed and she felt comfortable telling him just how nervous the idea of something like that made her. He wouldn't mind that she wanted to help this ogre now and focus on the pair of them later. And for good reason. "Wait! Look!" she exclaimed offering it for him to see. By chance when she looked down at the book she saw something, something about eyes that if she had to guess had probably jumped out at her because of…well because of his own eyes. But the more she read the more she liked what she saw. "Th-this is what we need!"

"Mirror of Souls," Gaston read.

"It says that if someone has evil in their soul it will be revealed in the mirror's gaze, their eyes will glow with demonic fire."

"So if we see no fire…"

"Then the ogre means us no harm," she finished for him. "This mirror's but an hours ride away I-I can go now!" she realized glancing over at him. She really could finish this up before sundown tonight.

"Good," he agreed. "You can get the mirror and I'll watch over the ogre, but promise me…" before she could move or plan he reached out and grabbed her hand in his own. It was cold and the grip was so firm it was bone crunching but when she looked up into his eyes she saw that there might have been cause for it. He looked concerned. Did he care that much? Already? "In case this creature's not innocent you'll bring back your father and his knights."

She hated the thought of what would happen to the ogre if she did that, but if he truly was here for purposes like what Gaston had suggested then that meant that he was here to harm the Kingdom. She couldn't let that happen no matter how much it pained her. If the glass revealed fiery eyes…she'd do what had to be done to help her Kingdom first and foremost.

"I promise," she finally choked out hoping she'd have the strength to do that.

Strength. She could remember lots of times when her parents seemed as though they didn't have the strength to do something. And she could remember when suddenly the other had appeared out of nowhere and given them the strength that they seemed to need. Could he be that for her? Could he make her stronger?

She smiled at the thought and nodded at the man before her. "And I'll see you soon!" she promised.

He smiled and she felt a blush rising in her as she quickly tore her hand from his own and walked away feeling the heat in her cheeks anyway. It was a good feeling, one she could get used to having. But now wasn't the time. If he could make her stronger the time to prove it wasn't now it was later. Now was the time to find that mirror.

Another 5x17 chapter, pretty straight forward this one, I think that we saw nearly all of this chapter in the episode itself so there wasn't much for me to do. Not much to do with any of the 5x17 chapters really but it's kinda nice after having to come up with so much all on my own. Now if only they'd actually give Belle a decent present story as well as a decent back story. "Haven't you ever wondered what it would be like for Belle to go on an adventure with [Anna of Arendelle, Merida, Mulan, insert random character here]?" No I have not. You know what I've wondered for the last five seasons? What would it be like if Belle and Rumpelstiltskin, her husband, actually went on an adventure together! Sorry...I've had that rant in my for a long time.

Peace and Happy Reading!