A/n: just a quick note because there seems to be some confusion, there is a reason Rumple didn't believe her. I intentionally wante you to wonder why he couldnt see something so obvious. It will be explored in up coming chs. Thanks for reading and reviewing!
As the day went on, Belle found herself completely alone and frightened. Every second was misery. Any moment she feared Rumplestiltskin would return and do god knows what to her. If he was willing to throw her in the dungeon, what else was he capable of? Would he torture her? Starve her? Oh gods, she shivered as the worse case scenario came to mind, but she quickly pushed the thoughts away. If she wanted to keep a hold of her sanity, she would have to force herself not to think about what may or may not happen.
Eventually she managed to pull herself up off the floor and curl up into a little ball on the stone slab that hung in the back of the cell. The front of her dress was soaked and filthy from seeping up the stagnant water on the floor, but she barely noticed. That was the least of her concerns.
Ultimately, her tears subsided, but her face remained red and puffy, sore from the excessive sobbing. She had lost the will to cry anymore. Her whole body was numb. All she could do was lay there and stare off toward nothing in particular. It wasn't like she could see anything anyway. The light was too dim. Even still, she continued to stare, zoning out the constant drip of water echoing off the walls. The only sound she tried to listen out for was the sound of footsteps-any indication that Rumplestiltskin was returning. Seconds, minutes, and hours passed by, but she never heard them.
At one point she thought she could hear someone-maybe more than one person-yelling, but it was too far away. She couldn't make out who they were or what they were saying. She had an inkling it was Rumplestiltskin...who else could it be? And he could only be yelling at Baelfire or Lumiere. From what she gathered from Bae, no one else lived in the castle. Oh gods, she hoped the boy was all right; hoped that Rumplestiltskin wasn't blaming him for letting her in. It was her fault she was here, not Bae's.
When all finally became quiet, she was left alone again with her thoughts and the steady rhythm of the dripping water. It was harder that way...she couldn't block out her thoughts when there was nothing else happening that she could focus on. She shut her eyes inhaling a shaky breath. All she wanted to do was forget. Forget the feel of that monster's hands on her arms-hands that were barely human, covered in gold scales with fingernails as black as night. Forget the way those reptilian eyes bore into hers making her want to rip her very soul out if it would allow her to escape. Forget the way she felt when he stood so near-the fright that had brought her to the brink of almost passing out. Forget that shrill voice that sent shivers down her spine like she was living a real life nightmare. But this was a nightmare and it was real. She thought she was bad off before when she had only lost her memories. Now she had lost her memories and her freedom all within two days.
More time passed, but Belle had no real sense of how much. There was no window to the outside world, so she couldn't even be sure it was still daylight out. However, she never moved from the concrete slab, even though it was incredibly uncomfortable, too afraid and drained to will herself to do so. She tried hard not to fall asleep. What if he returned while she was passed out? What would he do? Soon, though, her body finally gave out from exhaustion and her eyes drifted shut, sending her off into a restless and dreamless sleep.
Early the next morning, the sound of a light pitter-patter trailing down the stairwell and then the clanking of the locks on the dungeon door startled Belle out of her slumber. In the blink of an eye she was sitting up, backing away into the corner as far as she could possibly go, pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them as tight as possible. Rumplestiltskin had finally returned.
She could feel her whole body shivering, partly from the slight chill in the dungeon, but mostly from the trepidation.
In the doorway, she could easily see the silhouette of the person standing there, Rumple, once it was all the way open, but she couldn't make out his face.
"Please..." she heard her little horse voice start to beg, tears filling her eyes once more. She couldn't come up with any more words besides that. Everything had been already been said. If he was going to have mercy on her, then it would be his choice, not because of anything she did or said. Unable to control herself, she shut her eyes tight and began sobbing once more, unsuccessfully keeping the noise hushed.
"Belle, Belle, it's me Bae," the figure said stepping closer to her and placing a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.
Belle flinched at his touch, but when she registered that the voice wasn't Rumplestiltskin's, she opened her eyes to see Bae standing there before her, holding a lit torch. "Bae?" she asked in a disbelieving voice, wanting to make sure it was really him before she said or did anything stupid. Even though she could clearly see his face in the dim light the torch was giving off, she was still struggling to accept Rumple hadn't returned.
"Yes Belle, it's me, just me," Bae replied softly with a reassuring smile on his face.
Belle instantly relaxed and sighed heavily. Letting go of her knees, she let them fall to her side, but she didn't stand. While wiping away the tears on her cheeks she asked, "What are you doing here?"
Bae took a seat next to her. "Well I came to check on you," he started hesitantly, "To make sure my father didn't hurt you. He didn't did he?"
Belle could see Bae examining her closely as if looking for wounds or bruises. Physically no, Rumple hadn't harmed her, but emotionally yes. However, she wasn't going to tell the boy that. She knew he was referring to physical trauma. She shook her head. "No."
Bae sighed as well, relieved.
"Does your father know you're down here?" Belle asked, concerned. Rumplestiltskin was already angry enough and he seemed very over protective with his son. She didn't want him to find out the boy had been visiting her without permission, both for her sake and for his. If he did, she assumed somehow she would get blamed for it even though it was out of her control.
"Oh, he does," Bae replied briskly after hearing the worry in her voice. "He actually sent me down here, you know, he thought it would be easier if I came instead of him. He knows you don't want to see him."
That was an understatement. "So...so..." Belle inhaled sharply, trying not to cry again, "What does he want? Why did he send you here?"
Bae bit his bottom lip, "He wants you to join us for breakfast."
"What?" Belle questioned, shocked. "No!" she exclaimed, not even having to think about it. Even though she was famished from not having eaten in over a day, she would not dine with that monster.
Bae looked at her pleadingly. "Belle please, you have to. He made it clear that if you don't come eat with him, then you don't eat at all. I don't want you to starve! And I'm not sure I'd be able to sneak food down here without him knowing!"
Belle frowned. Of course the beast would give her an ultimatum. Why would he want to eat with her anyway? What did he want with her? Probably to continue to denigrate her, perhaps punish her for coming in the castle. "I don't want to have anything to do with him," she told Bae stubbornly. She wasn't sure how long she would be able to go without food before she gave in, but she didn't want to give Rumplestiltskin the satisfaction so soon.
"Belle," Bae started, trying his hardest to convince her, "He won't be like he was last night, I promise. He's calmed down-he's different…"
Belle looked at him and furrowed her brow, not understanding. "Different?"
"Yeah…" Bae paused, "It's hard to explain…you just have to trust me."
Belle chewed on her bottom lip, unsure of what to do. She had no idea what Bae was talking about. How could that monster be any different? Could she actually believe that he wouldn't start yelling at her again as soon as she went upstairs? She had trusted Bae when he said he'd protect her, but that didn't work out too well. Her growling stomach was fighting with her reason, making her want to accept the offer. Still, she was too frightened to give in.
Glancing down at her lap, she began to fiddle with her skirts, twisting them up in her fists. "What is he going to do with me Bae? Do you think he'll ever let me go?"
Bae frowned and looked down at the floor. "No," he said bluntly. "I tried to convince him. Really tried. We actually argued about it for a long time last night."
So she hadn't imagined the yelling she was hearing, Belle thought before Bae continued.
"But I got him to agree to let you stay-not in the dungeon, but the castle." Bae paused, briefly, "On one condition."
Belle didn't know what to think. "What is it?"
"You'll have to be our maid."
The maid?! Belle's stomach lurched at the thought. Under any other circumstances she might be more amiable to the idea, but the idea of being Rumplestiltskin's maid filled her with nothing but dread. For one, the state of the castle was well beyond what one would call unkept and disorganized. It was just one big nasty agglomeration of things. To clean and organize it would take months...even years. Oh gods, how long would she be forced to stay here? Would he let her leave once she was done? Would he ever let her leave?
Her main reservation, however, was the fact that her boss would be a monster who would most likely continue to treat her poorly. She wasn't sure she had enough stamina to put up with Rumplestiltskin everyday. Bae was a sweetheart, that was a plus, but Rumplestiltskin on the other hand...well they were nothing alike. She was still in shock at the way the wizard had reacted to her presence; it was nowhere near Bae's reaction. Yes, Bae had been skeptical of her at first, but he didn't act anywhere near the way his father had.
The more she thought about it the more she realized she couldn't see any family resemblance between Bae and his father. They didn't even look alike, which only made her surer Bae was a stolen baby from the stories she knew. Since it was clear Rumple didn't want anyone to know about Baelfire, her assumption was only further reinforced.
Belle closed her eyes, trying to let everything sink in. "I assume I don't really have a choice?" she questioned disheartened, mainly to confirm what she already knew.
Bae shook his head sadly. "My father was very specific. That or the dungeon."
Belle sighed again, not knowing what to do except curse herself for getting into such a mess.
"But I wasn't supposed to tell you all this…he was going to tell you at breakfast, but you have to join us first. And you have to pretend like you don't know."
"Bae…I…" Belle started, ready to deny the offer again.
Bae shifted where he could look at her straight on. "Belle, just trust me. It won't be like you think…he's not angry anymore…"
"Not angry anymore?!" she scoffed unable to stop herself. How was that possible? That might only be the case if he believed her, which he made very clear the night before that he didn't.
"I know it's hard to believe, but you just have to trust me. My father has the tendency to overreact…especially when…especially when…" The boy began to stutter and he averted his eyes from hers, but not before Belle was able to catch the look of sadness in them and the few tears that were forming in the corners.
"Especially when what?" she asked a little intrigued now.
"Just, never mind. You'll understand soon enough." Bae stood to his feet and looked down at her. "I promise you Belle, if you join us, he will be on his best behavior at breakfast."
Belle glanced up at the boy, who was holding his hand out for her to take. He seemed sincere and she wanted to believe him, she really did, but it was just next to impossible. However, if she remained down in the dungeon she was sure to starve to death, which would be slow agonizing torture all on its own. The only inkling that made her not completely disbelieve Bae, was the fact that Rumple had sent his son in place of himself, knowing it would be easier on her. Or perhaps the wizard just wanted to use his son to manipulate her. If that was the case, she was certain Bae knew nothing of it. The boy seemed genuine.
Taking a deep, nervous breath, Belle's hand slowly inched upward, until it met with Bae's. As much as she didn't want to face that beast, hunger had won her over. "Alright," she said, letting Bae help her to her feet, "I'll go."
Bae sighed in relief, a small smile forming on his face. "There's no need to worry, I promise," he tried to assure her as he led her out of the cell, not letting go of her hand.
Belle gulped. If only she could believe that were true then she could ignore the feeling in her gut that told her breakfast with Rumplestiltskin was a terrible idea.
As she ascended the staircase with Bae, she prayed silently that everything would all work out in the end.