A/N: Deepest apologies for the late update. I just got a new job and moved to a new town, so life has been somewhat hectic. Thanks as always for the lovely reviews!
Belle spent the majority of the next fews days in bed, reading or napping. It was a relief. She hadn't realized how exhausting her time spent at Jafar's had been, and the forced bed rest gave her a chance to think.
Rumplestiltskin made distracting comments about whatever book she happened to dig up or dozed against her shoulder. Belle found she didn't mind. The castle's desolated air made her feel lonely.
Also, if she caught him at the right moment, she could get him to tell her stories of his travels or the treasures spread throughout the castle. He seemed to have lost the panicked need to have all his possessions nearby, a fact for which Belle was grateful. She didn't fancy having to haul an entire castle's worth of metal and jewels up to the bedroom.
She came tramping up to the bedroom one evening, hands full with two bowls of sausage and beans. "I wasn't sure exactly how to cook this, so if you feel poisoned, better let me know."
She held out the bowl, praying he would take it. She hadn't had much trouble feeding him in the past few days, but he had seemed sick and lethargic after each meal. She had started bringing only the blandest of foods.
Rumplestiltskin peered into the bowl before taking it out of her hands. "It will take a lot more than a light snack to kill me," he said with a ridiculous amount of pride. He took a bite and grimaced before swallowing.
"Underdone?" Belle's hands tightened on her bowl.
He was already taking another bite. "No, just overly seasoned."
Frowning, Belle ate some herself. If anything, it was nearly tasteless. "Tastes fine to me."
Rumplestiltskin shifted over as she joined him on the bed. "It's fortunate Jafar didn't hire you as a cook, dearie. Else we would all be dead."
"Hey!" Belle cried indignantly. "I'll have you know, I make an excellent sponge cake."
"Something that's beyond my appreciation at the moment."
Belle quieted, for even though his tone was flippant, there was discomfort in his eyes. "How often did Jafar feed you?"
She realized her mistake immediately, as he bared his teeth at her in a parody of a smile. "What, like a pet? Making the demon do tricks for a few sweets?"
Belle placed a hand on his arm, keeping her tone soft. "No, of course not. I'm just wondering what I can do to help. You don't seem well after meals."
She ran her hand down his arm. The last few days had taught her that he liked slow, repetitive touches.
She knew it had worked when he began glaring at his bowl instead. "Jafar feared me. He knew if I ever became strong, I would destroy him." His eyes grew distant and pensive for a minute, and Belle let him be, not wanting to think about how he had killed Jafar and Iago.
However, now that the subject had come up... "How did you manage to escape, by the way?"
His hand fluttered on the bedsheets. "Magic." Belle frowned and leaned forward, but he spoke over her. "How do you know anything about cooking or cleaning? You're a princess."
With an inward sigh, Belle let the question go for the moment. "I didn't always know how. But we were at war. I wanted to be useful. My father and Gaston were completely against it, of course. But once I know something's right, I never quit . . . Before I knew it, I was cooking, cleaning, sewing, even helping the healers."
"You agreed to go with Jafar to save your village."
He hadn't asked her, but she nodded anyway. "I decide my own fate. And I probably would have died anyway, the castle was falling down around my head."
"And I would still be trapped. Thank you."
Belle started. It wasn't often that he made deliberate eye contact, and she was surprised by the depth of gratitude she saw there. "You're welcome. It's fine, really. I would have saved anyone in that situation."
"Yes, but not just anyone would have saved me." He took her bowl from her hands. "At least not without some form of payment - is there anything you want? Anything in the world?"
She averted her eyes, uncomfortable with the intensity of his gaze. There was a hidden facet to the conversation that was slipping from between her fingers. "Well, I do want to go home eventually."
"Yes, yes." He waved his hand. "That's a part of our current deal. I mean anything else?"
"No. I am perfectly content."
He scowled. "I don't like being in anyone's debt."
"You're not in my debt. It was basic human curtesy."
"I'm not human."
"Well, I am." She took a deep breath. It shouldn't be surprsing that he was a little prickly. She smiled at him. "Come on, let's go to sleep." She rolled onto her side, facing away from him. She grinned when, after a moment of grumbling, he followed her.
All was silent for a moment before his breath stirred her hair. "Gaston?"
"Where?" she whispered in mock horror.
He gave an irritated sigh. "Who is Gaston?"
"My fiance."
More silence, then, "Oh."
-X-
Belle stretched her limbs and inhaled deeply. She had burrowed down into the blankets during the night, and she could tell from the light shining through the sheets that it was about midmorning. She should really get up and get breakfast for Rumplestiltskin.
She frowned as she realized that she could not feel him at her back. For the last few days, she had woken each morning in a tangle of limbs, and the difference was startling. Come to think of it, the air smelled different as well.
Throwing off the sheet, Bell sat up in bed and gasped. Thick, soft blankets had replaced the thready sheets. The wooden bed frame was polished and didn't lean to one side.
For a moment, she thought that she had been transported to another castle. Then she had a look around the room. The desk and stained glass window were the same, just repaired and clean. Now she wondered if she hadn't gone back in time.
There could really only be one culprit behind the transformation, and she got out of bed to search for him. She couldn't resist looking in the wardrobe first and laughed with delight at the dozens of dresses she found inside. It was an indescribable relief to change out of the tattered work clothes and into a simple dress.
She wandered through the halls, noting with wonder the suits of armor now upright on their stands and the myriad of treasures now free from weeds and dust. The castle had lost its unreal quality as well, and she smiled at the feel of more solid ground beneath her feet.
She found Rumplestiltskin in the dining hall before a roaring fire. He sat slumped over the table with his chin resting upon his folded arms. Oddest of all the changes she had seen were his clothes. Gone was the frayed tunic, replaced with a coat of scaled leather that hung on his thin frame.
She rested her hip beside him on the table. "You overdid it."
He nodded, then blanched at the movement. "Just wanted to try a small spell."
Belle rolled her eyes. Still, she took the bait for his sake. "This was small?"
"With magic, everything is small." He turned his eyes in her direction. "Do you like your room?"
"Yes, it's beautiful." She felt a small pang at the possessive pronoun. It appeared he would no longer be sharing her bed. "Can you eat breakfast?"
"I'd rather not."
"Do you want to go back to bed?"
"Quit fussing, woman. I'm not made of glass."
Belle thought that he did look made of glass at the moment. His scales seemed almost translucent.
With a sigh, she joined him at the table. "So, what's all this then?"
He gave her a smug smile. "My power has been growing over the last few days. And I was tired of sleeping in musty sheets."
Belle nudged his arm. "I cleaned them best as I could."
"Sad attempt, really." She nudged a bit harder in mock offense at his playful tone.
"In that case, Rumple, I will be making breakfast for one." She flounced up from the table.
He twitched his fingers in a imitation of a wave as she left the room.
Smiling to herself, Belle wandered into the kitchen. She was pleased to note that the larder had restocked itself. While none of the food had rotted, they had been getting low on fruit and bread.
Belle slipped a berry into her mouth and hummed. She also couldn't say that she wasn't enjoying herself. Indeed, she was far happier now than she had been in a long time. And Rumplestiltskin made a good companion when he wasn't pouting or snarling at her.
Her eyebrows rose. Could she be in love? A minute's thought revealed that she was not sure. She hadn't had time to do any research.
Belle looked guiltily down at her now empty bowl of blackberries. She had meant to eat with Rumplestiltskin. Well, she would join him for supper.
Resolved, Belle headed out down a hitherto unexplored hall. She had some reading to do.
-X-
Rumplestiltskin waited at the table until it occurred that Belle wasn't coming back. He hoped he hadn't made her angry. She had known when he was teasing before.
He pushed himself up from the table and moved over to his spinning wheel, remade and sitting in the corner. Her turned the wheel with a finger, rubbing his chest with his other hand. A nagging twinge had started up behind his breast bone, reminding him that he had a deal to fulfill.
He nearly fell over as he sat down before the wheel. He didn't have to send her home just yet. He had said that she could go home when he was well, and he certainly didn't feel very healthy.
At any rate, he had drained nearly everything he had in cleaning up his home. It had been embarrassing, really, keeping a princess in such a place. And he wasn't sure if he had the power to transport her safely back to Avon. That was a risk he would not take.
Maybe they could make a new deal. She fit so neatly into his castle. It was shocking that after all these years of forced company, he didn't want to be alone, but there it was. She was pleasant to look at as well. Like one of his hoarded treasures, this one bought at ever so much dearer a price. And she didn't mind touching him.
Pulling apart a handful of straw, he shook his head. Of course she would want to go home. Her readiness to share his bed and feed him showed her dedication to her father and that Gaston. He desperately wanted to hear more of the other man as much as he never wanted to hear about him again.
Realizing that his thoughts were growing darker, Rumplestiltskin allowed his eyes to fall out of focus, and he began to spin. He may not have had the power to turn anything into gold, but he needed to forget for a while.
-X-
Belle wandered the halls for nearly an hour, peering around doors and into closets at whim. It felt odd that she did not grow thirsty. In Jafar's castle, the air had been thick, and she had been parched after twenty minutes of work. Even so, she shook her head in amusement at herself upon looking for pools of water in each room. Rumplestiltskin's castle was as fine as any she had ever seen. Of course it would not have leaky ceilings anymore.
She looked into the next room, searching for the water basin and grinned when she found instead a large copper tub. It took her ages to retrieve a pot from the kitchen, fill it with water from the tub's pump, and heat it over a nearby fireplace, but sinking down into warm water made it all worth it.
For a while, she lay against the tub's back and stared up at the uniform stones of the ceiling. Then she remembered exactly how long it had been since her last bathing, and she began to scrub herself furiously. Her hair had become utterly unmanageable, and she was sure that she smelled like spoiled milk. No wonder Rumplestiltskin hadn't wanted her in his bed anymore.
Come to think of it, she didn't remember him smelling. She wouldn't have been surprised if Jafar had wanted him kept clean, but Rumplestiltskin didn't smell clean. Rather, he didn't have a smell.
Belle shivered in the water.
She dried herself off with the bottom of her dress then spent some time tugging out the tangles in her curls. She grimaced as she slipped back into her dress, darkened in patches from the water.
Her stomach growled, and with a sigh, she abandoned her search for more books. Some scholar she was.
Several false turns later, she reentered the grand dining hall. "Do you want some supper?"
Rumplestiltskin was sitting before a spinning wheel, weaving out a long strand of woven straw. He did not turn to look at her, only waved a dismissive hand.
Belle grabbed some odds and ends from the kitchen and returned to the table to watch him. His eyes were distant and unfocused. It reminded her too much of how he had been after Iago had been at his back with the pliers.
She went to his side, placing a hand upon his shoulder. "What are you making?"
His dropped the straw as if stung, inhaling deeply as he turned to look at her. "Oh, Belle. Where have you been?"
She frowned. "Taking a bath."
"Yes, I can see that." He watched with fascination as he twisted a curl around his finger. "Would you like to go outside?"
Belle looked through the window at the falling snow. "Alright."
He sprang up from his stool and gave her a small push. "Best dress warmly, dearie. You could catch your death."
"I'm not the one who's cold-blooded."
"I'm not cold-blooded." He said it with as much indignation as if she had insulted his family line.
Belle spun to face him but continued to walk backwards to the door. "Yes, you are. You're cold to the touch." She spun back around and ran towards her bedroom, giggling.
"I'm well-insulated!" He called after her.
-X-
Belle still thought it was a mistake to wander about in the snow, fur lined cloaks or no. Rumplestiltskin slowed down considerably as soon as they'd stepped outside, but the set of his jaw told her that braving the cold was now a matter of principle.
He'd been right about the firewood, at any rate. The castle was surrounded on all sides by a stone wall many heads higher than herself, and the forest was a long way off beyond that. She never would have made it in all the snow.
Leaving Rumplestiltskin by the frozen pond, Belle meandered through the gardens. Every plant had frozen mid-bloom, so she found perfect roses with crystalline casing. She tried to pick one only to have it shatter in her hands.
A variety of frosty statues graced the pathway. A fawn, a maiden with a parasol, even an angel with frozen tears weeping down its face. Belle wondered if these too had adventurous stories like the treasures inside the house.
She was searching for animal tracks near the frozen sunflowers when she noticed that the snow was coming down harder now, and she hadn't seen Rumplestiltskin in a while. Tucking her numbed hands into her cloak, Belle headed around the side of the castle.
She found him where she had left him by the pond. He was staring up at the sky, his hands clenched into fists at his side.
Belle slid her palms around his fist. They were ice cold to the touch and barely moved when she pulled on his arm. "Rumplestiltskin, do you want to go inside now?"
She thought she saw him blink. "I cannot see the sky."
"I'm cold. Can we please go inside now?"
He gave no indication that he heard her, and Belle tugged on his arm with all of her strength. He nearly fell into her before he caught himself. At her insistence, he began to follow her, his movements stiff and slow.
By the time they were inside and down the hall, he was shivering violently. Belle slung his arm over her shoulder to keep him upright. "I'm not one to say 'I told you so,' but I did tell you. Are you the lord demon of all reptiles or something of the like?"
"I'm not a demon. I'm under a curse." He growled at her through chattering teeth.
Belle faltered as she processed this information. Then she noticed that his eyes were rolling back into his head, and she hurried him onwards. "Still, you are definitely meant for a warmer climate."
She managed to get him out of his clothes and into bed. She wrapped the blankets around his form and wondered if she could get some tea into him. The fire had blazed up upon their entrance, so she didn't think that he'd become hypothermic.
He caught her wrist when she tried to leave. "Stay with me tonight?"
Belle smiled at him, relief filling her chest. "Of course. Let me go grab my book. Oh, and tea?"
He shook his head, and Belle hurried to her room down the hall. She was too tired to do much reading, but it would be lovely to sleep in normal attire again.
A few minutes later, she slid into bed. Rumplestiltskin had rolled onto his side, facing the fire. She pressed her back to his, laying a book in front of her.
Propping her head up with her arm, Belle considered the latest information about her true love. Curses could be broken. Belle didn't know much about romantic love, but she knew all the stories about curses. Demonic powers or not, Rumplestiltskin must have been a man at one time. Her kiss should restore him to his original state, if they were truly meant to be.
He hadn't reacted well to their last kiss though. Then again, he had been in captivity and under a lot of stress.
Laying her head down on her arm, Belle smiled into the chill air. He could come home with her. For all its charms, this castle was dark and oppressive. Papa would be less than thrilled, but he would come to see reason. They would be happy.
Abandoning her book, Belle blew out the candle and rolled over to face Rumplestiltskin's back. She ran a hand over his shirt, feeling the scales there rise and fall with each breath. No one would ever control him again, she vowed. By evening the next day, that dagger would hold no power over him.