Chapter 10: - A Desperate Soul
Over the next five months Belle spent most days with Rumple and Bae. She was happy that she didn't have to act like a princess around them both.
With each passing day, Rumple began to realise just how beautiful Belle was, both inside and out. It warmed his heart to see how kind she was to Bae and of how his son had become very fond of her. Rumple knew he was in trouble….. He'd fallen in love with his best friend whilst she was still morning the loss of her husband.
Rumple kept his feelings to himself. All he cared about was his son and Belle's happiness but his mood always lowered when the thought of Belle leaving after her baby was born popped into his head.
One day whilst Rumple sat with Belle and Bae in the meadow near his cottage having a picnic, Gaston rode up to them along with Lumiere and an extra horse without a rider and Belle stood confused,
"Lumiere?... What brings you here?" she asked curiously and he smiled softly,
"Your highness, I have some good news. We shall be able to return to Avonia sooner than we thought" he explained and Rumple's eyes widened as LUmiere continued,
"We'll be able to begin our journey back tomorrow morning at first light and Sherriff Gaston has generously offered us the use of his soldiers to escort us back safely" he said with a bright smile and Gaston smirked, deliberately looking at Rumple,
"Oh I'm only too happy to be of assistant with your journey home Princess" he said in a polite yet evil tone.
Bae's bottom lip began to wobble and he ran up to Belle and hugged her side gently,
"Pwease don't go Belle" he begged and Belle looked down at him sadly,
"I'm sorry Bae….. I have to return to Avonia….. It's my duty to my kingdom and my people…." She explained gently and lent down, placing a gently kiss on his forehead,
"You'll understand one day" she said softly and he pouted and sniffled,
"I don't wants to understand… I wants you to stay… I wants you here with us always" he said sadly before running in the house and slamming the door and Belle sighed sadly before looking at Rumple sadly,
"Tell him I said goodbye and that I'll write to you both all the time" she said gently and Rumple stepped towards her with a sad expression and took her hands in his,
"But why does it have to be goodbye?... I lost you once…. I don't want to lose you again" he whispered sadly and she hugged him gently,
"Please Belle…. Please stay" he begged in a whisper and she pulled back to look at him sadly,
"I'll send you word when the baby is born" she said softly before fully pulling away and Lumiere helped her onto her horse and she looked at her childhood friend once more,
"Come and see me off tomorrow?" she asked and Rumple nodded sadly,
"Of course" he said quietly and Belle rode off with Lumiere and Gaston remained for a moment and smirked evilly at him,
"Oh dear….. Well let's face it….. She was never going to stay with a coward like you" he mocked before riding off and Rumple looked down sadly.
Rumple sat in the living room gazing sadly into the flames of the fireplace after making sure Bae was sound asleep.
Rumple sighed sadly and placed his head in his hands when suddenly,
"Don't tell me you're going to just let her go like that" said a deep voice and Rumple jumped up to face the intruder and instantly picked up a fire poker to defend himself and the hooded figure chuckled,
"Who are you?! Get out of my house!" Rumple shouted firmly and the figure chuckled as he lowered his hood,
"Not so loud Rumplstiltskin…. You don't want to wake your son now do you? And as for who I am… Well…. I'm sure you can work it out if you think really hard" the stranger said with a smirk and Rumple looked at him cautiously before his eyes widened,
"You?"
*FlashBack*
A 12 year old Rumplestiltskin wandered through the marketplace as he searched the stalls for a birthday present for Belle. He wasn't having much look so far when suddenly he knocked over a stool of trinkets due to the fact he hadn't been looking where he was going and he looked at the stall owner guiltily as he started to pick them all up,
"I'm very sorry sir" he apologise and the man chuckled and waved his hand dismissively,
"Nonsense it was an accident" he said simply before helping Rumple pick up the trinkets. When they were finally once again arranged neatly on the stool the man held out his hand to Rumple,
"Zoso's the name and peddling's my game" he introduced himself and Rumple shook his hand,
"Errrrrrm…. I'm Rumplstiltskin" he said politely and Zoso chuckled,
"That's a great name…. A good strong name" he complimented before continuing,
"Now…. May I interest you in anything?" he said, gesturing to the stock on his stall and Rumple looked before telling the man,
"I'm looking for a birthday present for my friend Belle" he explained and the man chuckled,
"Ahhhhhhhhh… A present for a girl. I have just the thing" he said before going behind his cart and retrieving a small box, He opened it and retrieved a Silver Star necklace,
"I believe this little piece will be perfect for your friend" he explained and Rumple smiled brightly but then it faded,
"It's perfect but…. I don't think I have enough money for something like that" he said sadly and Zoso looked as if thinking,
"How much do you have?" he asked and Rumple reached into his pocket and showed him two copper pieces and Zoso nodded instantly,
"Yes that's enough" he said and took the two pieces from Rumple's hand and replaced them with the Silver Star necklace.
*Present Day*
Rumple looked at Zoso stunned,
"You're…. You're the peddler who sold me Belle's necklace" he said stunned and Zoso chuckled,
"Bingo… Now I come back to my original question: are you really going to just let her go?" he asked with a smirk and Rumple sighed sadly,
"I don't want too….. But I don't have a choice" he said sadly and Zoso chuckled,
"Of course you have a choice….. You can choose to either go and stop her from leaving or….. You can choose to let her go" he said simply with a smirk,
"Come on, that girl wouldn't have even come back if it weren't for yours and your son's wish" he said simply and Rumple looked at him confused,
"What?... What are you talking about? What wish?" he asked confused and Zoso chuckled,
"The wish you and your son made when you first showed him the necklace" he said simply with a wave of his hand and a cloudy projection appeared showing Rumple the exact moment,
'"Me wish that I could meets Belle one day papa" he said innocently and Rumple smiled softly as he held his son,
"Me too Bae….. Me too" he whispered'
The projection vanished and Rumple looked at Zoso stunned by his magic,
"I…. I don't understand" he said shocked and Zoso smirked,
"It's not just a necklace…. It's a wishing star. I knew you and your lady friend would be separated…. I knew exactly how everything would happen so when you and your son wished upon a star, you got exactly what you wished for. That's why the royal physician suddenly decided it would be best for your beloved princess to travel back here to have her precious little baby" he explained with an evil glint in his eye,
"Now I come to why I'm visiting you tonight….. I'm here to help you but my question for you is…" he began as he removed a twisted dagger from his belt,
"…. How far are you willing to go in order to make the woman you love stay?" he asked in an evil whisper with a smirk as Rumple looked at the dagger.
Uh Oh So the secret of why the Royal Physician suddenly decided it was best for Belle to travel home is revealed.
Did anyone notice how the star necklace glowed at the end of chapter 4? ;) what a sneaky little writer I am haha :D
What will Rumple's choice be? How far 'is' he willing to go?
Find Out in chapter 11!
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Kind Regards,
TheAuthor1996