Chapter 10

"I still don't get what you from me…" Grumpy said, while Belle walked beside him with long strides. She was breathing quickly, while the dwarf even with smaller legs kept up with her pace.

"I already told you… I want you to call Nova and tell her to meet me…" Belle answered, huffing with impatience.

Grumpy looked at her, surprised. She had a dark expression over her features, a glint of something that he learned to link with Mr. Gold, shining behind her irises. She was different in a sense he couldn't identify, harsher, less Belle-like, and for a second he wondered if something of Lacey was still in there, somewhere, talking from the back of her mind.

"You look… like him… when he is scheming something…" Grumpy said slowly. "Please, don't tell me you are going to put yourself in danger to go and find him!" he begged, realization coming to him and making Grumpy stop in front of her and preventing her from walking further.

"Grumpy, just take me to Nova, please!" she replied, without giving any comment about his worry. It touched her heart more than words could say, but right now, she couldn't be the friendly Belle, the romantic one; she had to borrow something from that girl that habited her body for some time and be rash with her friend. Belle circulated around him and started her long strides once again, now quicker, leaving the poor dwarf to run behind her longer legs.

"I don't like this! I don't really like this!" he grumbled behind her, the entire way, until they found themselves in front of Grumpy's house.

He took out a key chain with uncountable keys from his pocket and without a mistake grabbed one and inserted it in the keyhole.

"Grumpy!" Belle heard a woman's voice yell from inside and a laugh. "I made chocolate cookies, but they are still in the oven… I just hope they don't get burned…"

"Nova… I brought a visitor…" the dwarf said and Belle entered behind him.

It was the first time she visited their house, and all she could do was smile. It was small and cozy and had a big fireplace, some books were dispersed over the shelves on the wall and she could see a box of chocolates over the kitchen table and behind it, a woman with a yellow apron with daisies.

"Hello!" Nova said, waving at Belle. "You're Belle, right? We never really talked, but you are really famous around town…" and she smiled apologetically when she realized the woman might not enjoy talking about her unsettling life.

"No problem…" Belle said, making herself smile through her nervousness.

Nova looked at her with an arched eyebrow, noticing her foot unconsciously tapping against the floor.

"I asked Grumpy to bring me here, because I need to talk to you…" Belle said and Nova pointed one of the chairs surrounding the kitchen table.

"Do you accept a tea?" the fairy asked and Belle nodded. Nova turned around to prepare the things, opening cabinets and bringing all the necessities over the table. "Oh no!" she said, looking around. "Grumpy, I don't have any tea… Could you go to the grocery and buy some, please?" the dwarf that kept himself against the door's threshold grumbled.

"You don't need all that, Belle is a friend and a beer lover too!" he said, with a companionship smile.

"Grumpy, I would like very much if we could serve some tea…" Nova said, with a sugary smile and getting the not-so-subtle meaning, Grumpy grabbed his wallet and turned around.

"See you later, ladies!" he said, before exiting the house.

The women traded an awkward smile and Nova sat in front of Belle. She grabbed the librarian's trembling hands and devoted all her attention to the younger woman.

"Now tell me what you need me for…" the fairy said, squeezing Belle's fingers in a motherly way.

"I'm pregnant! But you can't tell anyone, please!" Belle blurted, her heart hammering inside her chest. She saw how Nova's expression froze and how her eyes darted uncomfortably towards her belly.

"It's his baby…" she heard the fairy whisper and her heart froze… it was a dreaded whisper, filled with fear for the unknown.

"Please, don't react like that! He is a good man that made bad choices! He loves me and he will love this child!" Belle said, gripping the woman's fingers almost painfully.

The fairy breathed deeply and her eyes focused on Belle's face again. She could see the turmoil of emotion behind the fairy's irises: the fear, the suspicion, the pity and some kind of unknown emotion she couldn't pinpoint… was it hope?

"Belle, what do you want from me?" Nova asked in a soft murmur.

Belle bit her lower lip, while searching for the right words that wouldn't make her sound like a lunatic.

"Anton gave me a way to find Baelfire… if he is alive, of course…" Belle said and the fairy nodded. "But I need a special ingredient to make it work… I need blood from someone of Baelfire's family…"

"And you don't have any of the Dark One or Henry…" Nova said slowly, her eyes jumping towards Belle's belly. "Do you want me to…" and she pointed towards the barely perceptible bump.

"I don't know if it will work… and I will only do it if it's safe for my child…" Belle said, her voice filled with a motherly affection. Her eyes gazed over and her lips draw a smile over her face.

Nova sighed and rose from the chair, leaving Belle's hands empty. She walked towards the kitchen's window, observing the setting sun. The orange color saturated the sky, illuminating her face and creating shadows where only light existed. Nova kept that stance for a long time, her eyes far away from Belle.

"He is your true love… and you love him, very much…" she finally said, after what looked like years from Belle's point of view.

"I do, more than anything… I mean, almost more than anything…" and her hand jumped to her belly.

"And you are sure you are pregnant?" Nova asked, some trepidation in her voice.

"At first I wasn't, but then, I ran to the library and read a lot of books…" Belle replied, remembering her voracious hunger for knowledge. "And I know…" she said in a voice that told the fairy everything she needed: it was the voice of a mother defending her child.

"Okay…" Nova said. "I will help you find Baelfire…"

"Thank you!" Belle exclaimed, her tears falling from her eyes. She rose from her chair and run to hug the fairy. "Thank you so much!"

"Hey, what is going on? Why is Belle looking like she was crying?" someone suddenly asked behind them, and the women turned to find Grumpy looking at them, surprised.

"It's nothing!" Belle said and bending beside him, kissed his cheek and hugged him.

"That girl is so much trouble…" the dwarf said, while he watched her ran from their house.

"You don't know half of it…" Nova sighed, turning to observe the darkened sky.

Was she making the right choice?