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The Enchanted Forest, three months pre-curse

Belle woke up in her room amidst a flutter of activity. She didn't know who had carried her upstairs, nor did she want to. She could hear her childhood nurse Nora scolding someone for fussing so much over a little fainting spell, then she heard her father protesting that he'd not be kept from his only child when she was unwell. Nora was talking about giving the physician room to work and the door shut and only then did she dare to open her eyes. Nora was there and so was the court physician, Carlton.

"There we are," he said once he noticed she was awake. "Feeling better?"

Belle nodded and tried to sit up, but he stopped her.

"None of that now, my lady. You've given us all a bit of a scare. Just rest for a bit and let me check to make sure you're all in one piece."

"I'm fine," she said as he pulled her eyes open to check her pupils. "I was just lightheaded is all."

"And does that happen often?"

"No, I just had a bit of a fright. I'm really fine now."

"Your father said you saw him and fainted," he probed gently. Well, as gently as he could whilst also feeling to see if she'd hit her head when she fell.

"Well, my father gave me a bit of a fright," she said a bit snappishly. "I'm fine now."

Carlton looked at her for a moment, seemingly trying to determine if she were lying or not – since everyone thought she was cursed, she was largely free to speak her mind and people generally assumed whatever they didn't like resulted from that. Apparently liking what he saw, he nodded and stood.

"Alright, then. But you are under strict orders to stay in your room tonight. Have one of your maids bring you a tray and stay off your feet for a few hours."

That suited Belle just fine. If she could stay in her room forever she would be perfectly pleased. She heard him repeating his instructions to Nora before leaving, and only once it was the two of them did she finally relax. The sight of her old nurse coming around to fuss over her was a welcome reprieve from the company she'd been forced to keep today.

"Alright my dear," Nora said as she moved to fetch Belle's nightdress from the screen in her room. "The physician would like you to spend the afternoon resting and I see no need for you to do that in your corsets and skirts. Come on, you'll feel better once you're not wearing those things."
Belle tended to agree with Nora's assessment. Her time living as a maid had spoiled her with the softer stays she'd been allowed to wear under her dresses there. She'd not quite readjusted to her formal corsets yet. She pulled herself to her feet so Nora could unlace her dress. As her gown gaped open and slid down her shoulders, she heard Nora gasp. Glancing down, Belle saw what had caught the other woman's attention – there were bruises blooming around her upper arm where Guy had grabbed her earlier.

Belle turned around to see her maid with hands clasped over her mouth and tears sparkling in her eyes.

"Oh, my Belle..." Nora murmured. "What have they done to you?"

It was on the tip of Belle's tongue to deny anything was wrong, to try to comfort this woman who had raised her like a mother but she found she couldn't. Instead, she let herself be pulled into a tight embrace, sobbing her heart out as she explained the whole sordid tale.

"Well," Nora said after it was all over. "I always thought this whole curse business seemed a bit far-fetched. I've known you since you were a child and there's not been a man yet invented who could ever make you do something you didn't want to."

Belle laughed a bit, more from the relief having someone finally believe her than any other reason.

"Now, we'll just have to show these to your father and we'll get this all sorted out..."

"No, Nora," Belle interrupted. "I can't tell Papa. He's got his heart set on this fixing everything. If he saw them I don't know what he'd say, and I don't know that I could handle it if he dismissed them."

"That does limit our possibilities," Nora agreed, patting her on the arm. "But don't worry too much, my darling. We'll figure something else out."

Belle nodded sadly. She knew Nora meant well, but she'd tried everything already on her own and it was hard not to lose hope. Still, though, she had help now. Maybe this would be possible after all.

"You lay down now," Nora said. "I'll bring you up a tray myself and then we'll figure this all out. Everything will be alright, dear. You'll see."

Belle let herself be tucked into the bed like a little girl, and it felt good for just a moment to pretend that everything would be alright. Still, though, when the door was shut and she was finally alone for the first time since she had left the Dark Castle she called out for Rumpelstiltskin. She hadn't expected him to come, he clearly either still couldn't hear her or had chosen to ignore her or couldn't escape whatever he'd been trapped in. Just saying his name gave her some sense of closure, though. Now she could at least say she'd tried one last time.

There was no other person who could save her now. Belle would have to save herself.

Storybrooke, 2001

Something had come over Lacey today, and Gold was fascinated by it. After she'd practically climbed into his lap in the car and asked him to take her to his bed, she'd settled herself back in her seat and watched him with a strange look on her face as he drove them back to his house. She'd waited patiently for him to open the door for her before emerging from the car, and walked with him to the house. Once the door was shut, though, she made her way to the staircase before he had even locked the door. He leaned back and watched her like he knew she'd meant for him to. Her skirt swayed around her hips seductively and he wasn't above taking in the show.

Lacey paused midway, glancing back over her shoulder and smiling when she saw he was still watching her.

"Coming?" she said coyly, waiting until he nodded before continuing on her way up the stairs.

He followed not long after. He knew she was up to something but found himself helpless to resist the force of her when she looked at him like that. The first day he'd seen her he'd thought her a siren, and now he wondered if maybe he'd been right. He was powerless to resist her, drawn like a moth to a flame.

Lacey wasn't in the guest room he'd given to her when he reached the second floor. Instead, he found her standing in the middle of his room, facing the large mirror that sat above a dresser and slowly pulling pins from her hair.

He should probably resent this invasion into his private space, or take exception to the fact that she seemed to have settled herself in without so much as a by-your-leave from him. Instead, though, he found he was pleased that she seemed to have decided to stay. She pretended not to notice him, even as he walked further into the room, setting his cane against a dresser and coming up behind her as the thick mass of her hair dropped down onto her shoulders and she began to comb it out with her fingers.

Gold brought his hands to rest on her shoulders, softly trailing fingertips down the length of her arms and back up. She hummed in pleasure, leaning back against him a bit and closing her eyes. He took the moment to examine her in the mirror as he touched her. Lacey was beyond his comprehension, but then he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to understand her. He still wasn't sure if he was just a convenient place to stay or something more – or even if he wanted to be more. This wasn't something to think about right now, though. Not when she was warm and willing and here. Instead, he wrapped an arm around her midsection and trailed the fingers of his free hand across her collarbone.

She moaned softly, reaching one hand up to weave her fingers through his hair and opening her eyes, watching him as he watched her. He'd never seen eyes as blue as hers, and they were striking even half-lidded and watching his hand slip beneath the neck of her dress to massage her breast.

Gold held her gaze as he teased her nipple. She arched her back a little when he pinched her softly, biting her lower lip in a most tantalizing way. He groaned as her body pressed against his erection, providing a delicious friction.

"Can you help me with my dress?" she said sweetly, as though she weren't wrapped halfway around him.

He nodded, trying to regain some sense of control as he released her. She brushed her hair back over her shoulder, revealing three small pearl buttons that held the straps of the dress together. He released them, and she let the dress slide down her body to pool on the floor at her feet. She stepped out of it and went to stand at the edge of his bed clad in nothing but a black lace thong, her ridiculous heels, and the necklace he'd put on her earlier. He was becoming increasingly convinced she was trying to kill him, and also increasingly convinced that he didn't give a damn.

He was next to her in an instant, pulling her body to his and kissing her hard. She pushed his jacket off his shoulders and wrapped her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. She had to stay, he decided. He'd ask her tomorrow because he couldn't go back to the life he had before knowing that he had this in his grasp. Lacey sat on the bed before lying down and he followed her lead, laying to the side of her to as not to crush her as he kissed down her neck and chest to take a nipple in his mouth. She gasped as he did, and he felt a swell of masculine pride when she thrust her fingers into his hair and held him there.

He suckled her, swirling the dusky pink bud with his tongue and teasing it with his teeth. Lacey was moaning and crying out already, but when he dragged fingertips down her body and under her panties to tease her entrance she shuddered as though given a shock. Gold came close to pulling his hand back for fear of having done something unwelcome, but then she bent one knee, spreading her legs a little to give him better access. He was pleased to find her already wet for him as he pushed his middle finger deep into her. She let out a soft cry of pleasure, which turned into a whimper when his thumb came to work over her clit. It didn't take him long to have her gasping and moaning and clinging to his shirt as she came with a shout and buried her face in his neck.

He didn't see how he could ever tire of seeing Lacey coming undone like this. She was always beautiful, but she was always thinking so much – he could see the gears working in her head even when she was at rest, and it had always been so unbelievable to him that others thought her stupid. Lacey was constantly planning something, and he wasn't naive enough to believe he wasn't ever her target, he just didn't mind (frankly, he rather liked it). But when she was like this she was free. There were no ulterior motives, no larger plans, just Lacey finding pleasure in him.

Once she relaxed and he pulled his hand from her, though, Lacey was back. She took his hand and drew it up to her mouth, sucking his finger in slowly and tasting herself on him. He knew it was calculated to get a response from him, but damn did it get a response. Once she seemed satisfied with her work, she pulled him down to kiss her again.

"Do you care about this shirt?" she asked.

He could do nothing but shake his head and she grinned, pulling his tie off and tugging his shirt. He took her meaning immediately, sitting up and pulling hard, buttons ripping off as she helped him shed it. She sat up and kicked off her heels before moving her hands to work open his belt and pants. Once she had him exposed, she traced his length with gentle fingers. She leaned down and before he could say anything one way or the other she had him in her mouth.

Gold thought he might be losing his mind. He honestly couldn't remember the last time anyone had done this for him, and the fact that it was Lacey had him damn close to spilling then and there. He managed to hold out, though, even as she twirled her tongue around the head and sucked him further into her mouth, mimicking her earlier work on his finger. After a few minutes she finally pulled her mouth off of him with a loud pop, sitting back and looking at him with a self satisfied smirk on her face. She was toying with him, he realized. This had been part of her plan all along. Rather than being off-putting, though, he found the idea of her spending her day planning his seduction unbearably erotic.

He grabbed her hair, pulling her in for another hard kiss before shedding his trousers and boxers. Lacey followed suit, removing her panties and moving further up the bed to pull a condom from his nightstand. Oh yes, this had been planned and planned well.

Lacey welcomed him on top of her with open arms, her legs wrapping around his hips and her hand guiding him to her entrance. She held him tight as he moved into her, crying out for him with each thrust and leaving kisses and bites all along his shoulders and neck. As his thrusts became more erratic, her nails dug hard into his back and she called his name before he spilled himself at last.

Lacey held him tight as he caught his breath, kissing the top of his head until he felt strong enough to turn off the light and draw her into his arms. He didn't know what morning would bring between them, but he didn't need to right now. For the moment, it was enough that she had wanted him even for one night.