Hey again, just here to say that I'm so glad people like this and want more, and the reviews make my day. I'm trying my best not to disappoint :) Thanks to all the people who had reviewed so far, and all the people who read this. Once again, all the mistakes are mine, and I hope you enjoy.
Belle stayed up until the sunlight started streaming through the window. She had shifted Ruby's legs earlier and sat on the other end of the sofa while her friend slept, looking up from her book that she had found on the table to check that Ruby was okay. She didn't really mind, it felt natural to be in her presence, a lot more comfortable than in Mr Gold's, especially now that he had battered Ruby. Although, she thought, she had seen Ruby smashing his face into the shop counter, and yet she wasn't afraid of her. She still wondered why Ruby had stopped when she came in. Maybe now she would have the chance to ask her, as she got the feeling that Ruby was avoiding her. Perhaps she could ask about that too. She had so much she felt she should know, that she did know, but had forgotten, or lost. But she wasn't stupid, and after what she had seen of the town, after what she had overheard from the inhabitants who thought she wasn't listening, she was smart enough to realise that this town wasn't exactly normal. Whispers of magic followed her at every turn, and Belle had a strange image of Mr Gold with a fireball in his hand ingrained in her mind.
It was around seven in the morning when Ruby stirred, groaning and stretching. Cracking open her eyes, she saw Belle curled up at the other end of her sofa. She recognised the surroundings and realised she was back at the inn. Belle hadn't noticed she was awake, as she took a moment to watch the librarian's eyes traverse the page she was on. Ruby didn't realise she was staring until Belle went to turn the page and habitually looked up, catching Ruby in the act.
"You're awake," she said, closing the book and placing it on the table, a small smile on her face.
"My head hurts," Ruby replied, feeling it throb painfully whenever she touched it, retracting her hand quickly.
"I'll admit Mr Gold was pretty rough." Ruby suddenly let out a loud groan. "What's wrong?" asked Belle, concern plastered across her face.
"I busted into your room in the middle of the night!" she said, covering her face with her hands. Belle let out an airy, light laugh at this, a sound Ruby loved.
"Why did you?" asked Belle, a little confused that she hadn't really considered it sooner. Like she was used to it, or expected it. How odd, she thought.
"I… I heard you scream," said Ruby, sitting up properly and refusing to look Belle in the eye.
"What, do you have bat-hearing or something?" laughed Belle. When Ruby didn't reply, Belle took a breath. "Ruby, this is going to sound crazy, but is this town… not… normal?" she said carefully, gauging Ruby's reaction. First, Ruby's eyebrows shot up, looking at Belle, mouth open slightly as if contemplating how much to tell her. Belle watched as Ruby thought for a while, her eyes darting from one corner of the room to the other, a hand running through her hair, as was her habit, only to wince in pain from her wound again. Realising that she had to speak soon, she made her decision.
"Belle," started Ruby. Belle sat up a little straighter, arms crossed. "What I'm going to tell you will sound insane, but it's true, you have to believe me." Belle only nodded, urging her to continue. "The people in Storybrooke aren't normal. We're… we're from another world. We were brought to this world by a curse, cast by The Evil Queen, Regina Mills."
"The Mayor?" asked Belle, remembering the name. Ruby nodded and continued.
"We all have other lives, as the curse kept us here for twenty eight years…" Ruby continued to explain as Belle sat there, absorbing all of the information; about the world, the politics that led to the events, magic, Mr Gold, and even Belle's past.
"So I was royalty?" asked Belle. Ruby huffed a laugh.
"Yes. But you agreed to live with The Dark One to save your kingdom and family. You were his… maid."
"Who were you?" asked Belle. Ruby didn't mention Belle and Gold's past relationship.
"I was called Red."
"Like Red Riding Hood?"
"Yeah. I had a cloak that was red, it stopped me from turning. I was a… a werewolf," she said quietly, watching Belle's face for any sign of fear. Belle, however, was thinking over her dreams, the wolf that she wasn't afraid of.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Ruby looked round, but hissed in pain as the pain in her head spiked. Belle got up and opened the front door of the inn, only a fraction in case it was Gold wanting to fight with Ruby again. But Belle saw a woman standing in the doorway, a black umbrella held over her head, keeping her black suit and dark hair dry.
"Regina," said Belle. She was a little apprehensive, after finding out that Regina had locked her up for twenty eight years to punish Mr Gold. Regina seemed to note the lack of trust, and the smile fell from her face.
"Are you alright?" she asked, uncharacteristically warm, scrutinising the librarian's face and then taking in her attire. "Has somebody been having fun with a certain werewolf-?" she began with a smug smile on her lips.
"Regina, is that you?" called Ruby from within. Regina raised her eyebrows at Belle's confused look.
"Yes, is everything okay?" she called back. Clearly Belle had not been told everything, if anything about her past.
"Yes, come in," replied Ruby. Belle opened the door wide and stepped aside, letting Regina in. Regina left her umbrella by the door and walked inside, eyeing Belle curiously. Belle returned the look with slightly narrowed eyes as she walked into the kitchen.
"What's wrong with Belle?" Regina asked as she entered the living room. Then she saw Ruby lying on the couch. "What's wrong with you?" Ruby hurriedly explained about the events at Gold's the previous night, and then informed Regina that Belle now knew that she was the one to lock her away. She also added that they hadn't discussed their relationship.
"Oh," she said, caught between amusement and a little bit of shame about the 'locking-up-Belle-incident'. Belle returned with an ice-pack wrapped in a tea towel and offered it to Ruby, who took it gratefully and held it against her head. Belle sat down on the sofa by Ruby's feet, and the wolf-girl gladly curled up a little more to give her room. Regina sat on an armchair, choosing the one closer to Ruby then Belle.
"Not that I don't enjoy your company," smiled Ruby. "But what are you doing here?" Regina never usually popped over for tea and a chat – not without Emma.
"I have some good news," she said. "About Belle's memories." Both Ruby and Belle's eyebrows rose in surprise, paying complete attention. "There is a spell I can cast to bring them back –"
"Do it!" yelled Belle and Ruby simultaneously. Regina looked a little surprised and alarmed by such a reaction.
"But I need an object that was close to Belle's heart. A… talisman of sorts."
Ruby looked confused, Belle too. Regina sighed.
"The imp seemed quite taken with a particular cup, with a small chip in it. I believe that this was your talisman," Regina explained a little slower than necessary. While Ruby looked a little apprehensive, Belle looked eager.
"Yes, I've seen it in Mr Gold's shop. I asked him about it once, but he wouldn't tell me about it."
"Well, if we can get our hands on it, I can try a spell. Magic is temperamental in this land though, so the results might not be as expected," she said with a slight shrug.
"It's worth a try, right?" said Belle, looking at Ruby. Ruby was more cautious. She wanted nothing more than to have her Belle back, but what if the spell went wrong and harmed her, or worse?
"I don't know. It seems risky," said Ruby honestly. Belle gave her a strange look but Regina seemed to agree.
"I thought I'd flag it up for you, in case you wanted to try. You know where I am if you change your mind," said Regina, looking at Belle before she got up and strode out of the room, leaving Ruby and Belle looking at each other for a little longer than normal.
"What do you think?" asked Belle finally.
"I think my head hurts too much to think this through properly," replied Ruby, moving the ice pack into a better position against her skull. Belle got up and left the room, her nightdress swishing against her legs as she walked, leaving Ruby a little confused. The librarian returned a minute later, holding a glass of water and a couple of tablets in her hand.
"Here," she said, handing her the two little white pills. Ruby took them gratefully and quickly downed them both with the rest of the water.
"Thanks," Ruby replied as Belle sat back in her place. It almost seemed like old times, thought Ruby as she smiled fondly at Belle – who was biting her lip, indicating to Ruby that she was deep in thought. "What're you going to do?" she asked.
"I'm not sure yet. I want my memories back, of course, but it does seem like a shot in the dark, even Regina said so…" she tailed off, as Ruby knew she often did when she was turning something over in her head. "I'll think on it tonight and decide tomorrow."
"Speaking of tonight, what's the story with Gold?" Ruby couldn't stop her tone from slipping from curious to spiteful at the mention of his name.
"I really don't want to go back there right now. I've never seen him like that before. Well, that I can remember, at least," she said, a tad sourly.
"I'm curious," said Ruby, feeling a little better and sitting up properly, one hand still on her head, holding the ice pack in place. "Why are you comfortable with me after you saw what I did to Gold, but if Gold whacks me once, you're like this?" Belle bit her lip again.
"I don't really know. I just feel… better… around you," she said quietly, not meeting her eyes, her hands twisting slightly in her lap. Ruby wanted to tell her everything – about how they were more than friends, how much she loved her, everything. But something stopped her. This Belle couldn't remember anything that may have shaped her feelings towards Ruby in the past. Maybe she'd find it weird to find out she used to love a werewolf. A girl. "Is that weird?" she asked, playing with one of her curls.
"Not really," replied Ruby kindly, as she reached out for Belle's hand, stilling it from its anxious hair-twirling and coming to rest on Ruby's leg, fingers clasped in the werewolf's. Belle looked a little surprised but happily so at the sudden contact. "Come on, let's go for a walk. I think fresh air will do the world of good for my head," she said, swinging her feet around onto the ground and standing up a little too quickly.
"Careful!" warned Belle as she darted up to Ruby's side, her hands grasping the taller woman's shoulder and arm, holding her as steadily as she could. Once the black curtain had lifted from Ruby's vision she looked down at Belle, and suddenly noticed their attire.
"Perhaps we should stay in for a bit," she said with a chuckle. Belle followed her gaze, hands gently sliding down the length of Ruby's arms and coming to rest at her hands.
"You don't mind if I stay for a while?" asked Belle, looking up at her.
"Of course not! Come on, there's a bunch of movies upstairs, we can have a lazy day." Just like we used to, she lamented silently.
"That sounds fantastic," smiled Belle, and they made their way to the stairs, Ruby slowly climbing with Belle's support when needed. Ruby was ashamed to admit that a few times, she had played up the dizziness just to have Belle closer to her.
The rest of the day they spent lying on Ruby's bed, watching DVDs of romcoms, then action movies, and then just anything. They took it in turns to pick, and while Belle didn't have much of a clue what the movies were about even when she had her memories, she still had the same taste as before. When they first started, Ruby and Belle lay on their respective sides, Ruby amazed that Belle still chose the left side. But as the first movie progressed, they grew closer and closer together, until Belle was lying with her head on Ruby's shoulder, her arms wrapped around her waist while Ruby played with her curls absently and had one hand clasped over Belle's own, their legs intertwined. Just like old times, she thought. But she didn't do anything more, out of fear that Belle would reject her. She still wasn't completely her Belle, she had to remind herself. She suddenly noticed Belle's breathing had slowed and discovered that the shorter girl was asleep. Chuckling, Ruby continued to watch the movie. It occurred to her that it was pretty possible that Belle hadn't slept the night before. She had looked pretty tired that morning – now it was about midday. Ruby was about to suggest that they eat, but decided to leave it until Belle woke up. Besides, she didn't know when she could be this close to Belle again. She would savour it.