Chapter Thirteen—Their next set of visitors showed up with rather more warning, but they did arrive the same day that Belle chased the Blue Fairy off.
"I would have been tempted to swat her with a broom, if only I'd had one at hand," she told Rumplestiltskin after she'd headed inside to change, rightly guessing that he'd been aware of the encounter but had been willing to let her fight her own battles. Within reason.
That image made him laugh. If ever there was a fairy that deserved a giant flyswatter, it was that one! "Oh, sweetheart, I wish you had. That would have been…marvelous."
"I'll bring a broom to the garden next time, then." Belle grinned, and he kissed her.
They'd wound up tangled up together on a settee in their chambers, sprawling comfortably as he distracted her away from her planned trip to Oldtown. Rather than admitting how much Ruel Ghorm's unexpected visit worried him, Rumplestiltskin preferred to divert Belle from her intended purpose, at least for the day. She probably knew what he was doing—his wife knew him far too well, sometimes—but so far, Belle appeared to be content with the arrangement. They'd eaten lunch together and he'd abandoned his efforts to try to make the future make sense, and until his magic alerted him to a pair of travelers coming up the mountain road, Rumplestiltskin had hoped to spend a quiet afternoon together.
Things were starting to come to a head, he knew. There might not be many quiet days left to them, and he wanted to treasure every one of them in the meantime.
"Damn," he breathed, mentally following a tendril of magic out to determine if the visitors were people that he wanted to tangle up in a spell or two to lengthen their journey. But, no. Not those two.
"What is it?" Belle asked, her head on his shoulder. Heaven must feel something like this, he knew, because just being with her made him feel more at peace than he had…well, ever.
"Visitors. Your friend Snow White and her Charming shepherd prince."
Belle jumped up, and Rumplestiltskin stifled a groan. "I should change."
"I could do that for you with magic, you know," he pointed out mildly, but no matter how subtle his suggestion, he knew what her answer was going to be before Belle said:
"I can manage fine. You're the one who says all magic comes with a price."
He waved a hand. "Negligible."
"Well, then you can lace me up." She shot him a cheeky smile and dropped her dress, reminding Rumplestiltskin that there were very good reasons to let Belle dress and undress the old fashioned way. She'd been far more shy when they'd first married, but two and a half months into their marriage made her far more brazen—and the infernal woman knew exactly what she was doing to him, particularly when she looked at him like that. There was naught he could do but sit back and watch—trying to get in the way before Belle was ready for him would probably get Rumplestiltskin smacked, as he'd found out more than once. The blow would be playful, of course, but they did have visitors coming.
So Rumplestiltskin watched, smiling and making plans for later.
"You do know, dear, that I can make you regret that little show you're putting on," he threatened in a low voice that was everything but dangerous.
"Who says I'm not counting on that?" his wife countered. Her back was to him, but Rumplestiltskin could feel her smile.
He chuckled softly. "Be careful what you wish for."
Belle shot him an over the shoulder glance that made him start wondering if he'd need a cold bath before the royals showed up. The damn vixen winked! "Always."
Two could play at that game. The moment she looked away, fiddling with the front of her new dress, Rumplestiltskin jumped to his feet. Cat-like, he tiptoed over to her, his movements silent until he was standing right behind and could whisper in her ear.
"I'm a monster, my dear. You never know what I might do to you." He knew his breath tickled her ear, but the shiver that raced through Belle wasn't because she was ticklish, but it was a very suitable revenge.
Her gaze was hot when she turned it on him. "I'm absolutely terrified," Belle replied, her voice a shade too husky to pretend everything was normal.
"You'd better be."
Damn. They'd entered the castle already, and the impatient prince was calling his name. In fact, Charming was so damn loud that Rumplestiltskin could hear him with his ears and not just with magic, which meant Belle could, too. She pouted briefly, and then sucked in a deep breath. Strong girl. "Lace me up?"
"Of course."
He could have used magic for that, and it would have been faster, but there were some that were just better done by hand. Besides, Rumplestiltskin had become rather talented with stays and laces and other odd bits of feminine clothing in the past ten weeks. Once Belle had decided that he was perfectly capable of helping, she'd stopped wearing only dresses that laced up in the front. It had been years since he'd been faced with such challenges, but Rumplestiltskin hardly minded. It let him drop the occasional kiss on her shoulder, as he did now, pausing to smell her skin before he finished tying her dress off. Helping her dress made their relationship oddly…domestic, and a surprisingly large part of him liked that.
"Later?" Belle asked quietly when he was done.
"Impatient, are we?" he couldn't help laughing.
She swatted him on the shoulder. "As if I'm the only one."
"I hide it better."
"Sure you do," Belle snorted, her gaze shifting downwards, and Rumplestiltskin had rarely been so grateful for magic than he was in that moment. Had he been depending merely upon his own self-control, he'd never have dared wear leather pants ever again. Still, it took every bit of composure he had to ignore her pointed look.
"Shall we?" he asked instead, offering her his arm.
"Of course."
Part of Snow hadn't wanted to come back to the Dark Castle with James, yet she knew that she needed to face her own irrational fears. She wasn't afraid of Rumplestiltskin, of course—not that the Dark One wasn't terrifying, but Snow sensed he was more on their side than not. Or, at least he'd keep his end of the bargain. No, it was Belle who she feared for. The girl she'd befriended while on the run from Regina must be in trouble if she'd lied about Rumplestiltskin being her True Love. Honestly, Snow wasn't sure if she was more worried that she would see Belle at the Dark Castle or that she wouldn't.
To make matters worse, James said that he'd met Rumplestiltskin's wife the last time he'd been there, and he'd said that her name was Belle. Thinking on that made Snow scowl; Belle's apparent honesty had fooled her and Ruby—but what if it hadn't been a lie? Oh, maybe it wasn't True Love. Snow knew how rare that was, and Rumplestiltskin was evil. Everyone knew that evil didn't find True Love. But what if Belle loved him? That thought was more terrifying than anything other reason Snow could come up with for the story Belle had told, and it made her want to rescue her friend. If Belle needed rescuing.
Snow heaved a sigh while they strode into the entrance hall of Rumplestiltskin's castle. James had made a good point while they'd walked up the mountain. Her True Love had met Rumplestiltskin more times than she had, and had actually had a meaningful conversation with him back when Rumplestiltskin had offered him the chance to become a prince. So, if James said that the Dark One didn't seem the type to force a woman to stay with him—or marry him!—against her will, Snow was willing to give the imp a chance. She hadn't known Belle for long, but she wasn't exactly a weak or easily dominated woman. Much though it pained Snow to admit it, Belle had seemed to know exactly what she was doing when they'd rescued Rumplestiltskin from Regina.
"Snow!"
The familiar voice made her whirl around, and yes, that was Belle coming down a spiral staircase at Rumplestiltskin's side. She was dressed in finery that made Snow's own clothing look terribly worn and ratty—not that Snow had much of a choice, living the bandit life when she didn't find herself in one dungeon or another—but it was the happy look on her face that made Snow start.
"Belle?"
The other girl rushed forward to hug her, and then shoot a dirty look at Rumplestiltskin. "You didn't tell me Snow was coming."
"You didn't ask," the imp replied, shrugging.
Belle felt solid in her arms as Snow returned her embrace, and her smile was so much less restrained than Snow remembered. "You look wonderful," Snow said, smiling despite her own unease.
Was it her imagination, or was Rumplestiltskin watching the pair of them as warily as James was?
"So do you," Belle replied immediately, then laughed a bit. "Well, for someone that just escaped King George's dungeon, anyway. I was sorry to hear about that."
"It turned out all right," Snow said, pulling back to smile at her friend. And Belle was her friend, no matter how betrayed she'd felt when she'd realized who Belle had hoodwinked into rescuing them. What was it Rumplestiltskin had said in the forest after the rescue? They'd never believe the truth.
"I'm glad," Belle said, and Snow believed her. Finally, James intervened, holding out the portrait that they'd jumped into to make their escape.
"We came to return your portal," James told Rumplestiltskin.
"So you did." The Dark One gestured vaguely, and the portrait vanished out of James' hand, frame and all. Snow's love jumped slightly, and then leveled a glare at Rumplestiltskin.
"Couldn't you just take it like a normal person?"
Snow suppressed a smile as Belle giggled. She loved him for his brashness as much as anything else.
"Who ever said I'm 'normal', dearie?" Rumplestiltskin countered. "Or that I'd want to be?"
"You got married like anyone else," Snow blurted out before she could think to stop herself. But she couldn't help it. She was curious.
Eyebrows wiggled. "So it would appear."
"Rumple," Belle admonished him, detaching herself from Snow's side and heading over to her…husband. The look she gave him reminded Snow of ones Joanna had given her as a child, when she'd been being foolish and rambunctious and out of line. Then Snow's mind caught up with the nickname. Rumple?
But the Dark One didn't seem to mind. He only grinned at Belle, ignoring the implication that he should behave himself.
"Where'd you lose your dwarf?" he asked instead.
James scowled. "He had things to do."
Snow managed not to smile to herself. Grumpy had been, well, grumpy about Rumplestiltskin having figured out that he was in love with a fairy, and had headed off to warn Nova as soon as the rescue mission was complete. The other dwarves had headed off to help with the various things that needed organizing before a successful rebellion could start, because Snow had had quite enough of this back-and-forth. King George was annoying, but he wasn't really the biggest problem at the moment. He'd been determined to hand Snow over to Regina, and much though she had once loved her stepmother, Snow as ready for war.
"And so do we," Snow spoke up again, squaring her shoulders. The Blue Fairy had warned her that making a deal with the Dark One was dangerous, but she had very little to lose at this point. And the fairies couldn't help her, so she would have to turn to him. "Can you help us? I know Queen Regina is no friend of yours."
How Regina had managed to hold Rumplestiltskin prisoner was still a mystery, but Snow was wise enough not to ask, no matter how badly she wanted to know. Maybe she'd manage to convince Belle to tell her someday, but now was hardly the time.
Rumplestiltskin chuckled. It was a surprisingly pleasant sound compared to his normal, high-pitched laugh. "You might say that Regina and I have a…complicated relationship," he answered critically. "Call us…competitors, if you will."
"Can you help us against her?" James pressed, ever the impatient one. Snow shot him a look, but he only shrugged. "Will you?"
"All things come at a price, dearie. It depends on what you want, and what you're willing to pay."
James growled a bit under his breath. "Can't you just enchant her or something?"
"Oh, I could. But you wouldn't want to pay that price. Magic can't win a war by itself. And unless you were willing to kill her, however would you keep control of her without me there? I'm certainly not going to host Regina in my castle for the rest of her natural life." Rumplestiltskin flung a hand up airily. "I have far better things to do with my time."
His eyes flicked to Belle, who snickered, and Snow felt her stomach roll. Yes, they were married, but was he really implying…? Obviously, James was thinking along the exact same lines she was, because he grated out:
"I really didn't need to know that."
"Can you help us?" Snow asked, trying desperately to ignore what the Dark One was trying to insinuate. Thankfully, Belle shot Rumplestiltskin a pleading look, too, which had to help their case. Didn't it? He seemed to relent a little, and at least he stopped laughing at them.
"I'll tell you what," Rumplestiltskin said contemplatively. "You fight your little war. And when you get to the point where you figure out what you want to do with dear Regina, you let me know. I can help you contain her. Or—should she get the better of you—well, Princess, I do still owe you a favor."
"I guess that's the best we're going to get," Snow answered philosophically. Exchanging a glance with James, she shrugged. That was the best they were going to get. Rumplestiltskin was right—magic couldn't win a way by itself, and she wasn't sure she'd want to be that beholden to the Dark One, anyway. If she was going to win her kingdom back, she wanted to do it the right way. Her people deserved better than to be ruled by an Evil Queen, and she'd finally found someone who she could depend upon to fight by her side, no matter what.
She said farewell to Belle, hugging her friend again and finding herself pleasantly surprised when Belle promised to write—and whispered conspiratorially in her ear that she'd talk Rumplestiltskin into helping in small ways. Snow didn't know if it would work, but Rumplestiltskin's expression did seem to soften every time he looked Belle's way, so maybe it would.
There were a million questions Snow wanted to ask, but now really wasn't the time. They'd keep.
Seeing his pet princess and (almost) prince reminded Rumplestiltskin that there was still a curse to work on other than his former one. Several sleepless nights of lying awake while listening to Belle breathe later, he decided how to best deal with his wife's unhappiness. He had promised Belle that he'd try to find a way other than the curse, and Rumplestiltskin always kept his word…which meant he had to adjust the curse now. Regina would want to trade for it, soon—he didn't know what she'd have for him, but his visions told him plainly that she'd come crawling to him soon with information, mostly to try to get back on his good side. Regina wasn't an idiot; she knew she had few enough allies, and wasn't about to lose her old mentor if she could avoid it. Besides, even the torture hadn't been personal. He'd known that at the time.
It still gave him some nightmares, but no worse than many others he had. Rumplestiltskin could live with nightmares, particularly with Belle by his side.
Sighing, he disentangled himself from his wife's arms and slid out of the bed, checking to make sure she was still sleeping as he slipped into a robe. He'd try to return before Belle woke up, but now that he'd decided what he needed to do, Rumplestiltskin wasn't about to hesitate. He'd been working on this curse for so long, and the pieces were finally sliding into place. If he was going to find a way to invert it at will, he had to do that before the curse wound up in Regina's hands. Once he lost control of the scroll, there was no telling what might happen.
Slowly, Rumplestiltskin padded his way up to his work tower, walking instead of using magic to transport himself. The spells on his leg held; every now and then, the old injury twinged slightly in pain, but overall, the leg wasn't much of a problem. Sometimes he wondered if he should finally heal the injury, but the thought of re-shattering the old breaks made him shudder. Bad enough that Regina's goons had seen the crooked ankle and decided to break it, but their aim had been poor if they'd intended to duplicate his old injury. Instead, they'd broken the leg and ankle in new places, and fresh breaks were easy to heal. It was the old, poorly healed ones that were still a problem. Nearly three centuries after he'd broken his own leg, the injury had healed—just not correctly. And all the healing magic in the world could not fix something that had already knitted together without Rumplestiltskin first completely recreating the old injury. Re-shattering his leg.
No. He didn't want to think of that now. Perhaps he could be a better man without his curse, but he still was a coward at heart. Pushing open the door to his work room, however, allowed him to banish such thoughts from his mind. He had work to do.
Rumplestiltskin had already placed a drop of Snow and Charming's True Love on the curse, ensuring that their unborn daughter—all blonde hair and attitude, fond of swans and doubtful to a fault—would be the Savior. But now he'd have to put in a safety valve, an extra line to the curse that would change its very nature…if he so wished it. To Regina, his addition would represent additional power over those she cursed, a guarantee that love could exist within the curse, but since the curse would deny happy endings, it would only highlight people's suffering. Regina would be pleased by that addition, and would never recognize the Achilles heel Rumplestiltskin was inserting.
Regina would read that line as love, but placing a small drop of his and Belle's True Love potion—which had finished brewing only hours earlier—on top of the word love allowed Rumplestiltskin to use that point in the curse as an inversion. Every curse had a breaking point; the large drop of Snow and Charming's love meant that their daughter would be able to break the curse. But some curses also had stopping points, and that was what he created now. Their love became a thread he could grasp within the casting of the curse itself. So long as he utilized that thread while the curse was being cast—and threw enough power into the process, for the Dark Curse was nothing to sneeze at and would not go down easily—Rumplestiltskin would be able to stop the curse from being completed.
Assuming he wanted to. Promise Belle though he had, Rumplestiltskin had no intention of leaving his son in the Land Without Magic. If the Dark Curse was the only way to get to Baelfire, the Dark Curse he would use. Perhaps his confusing new visions did hint at another path, but that could always amount to nothing. He might never use the safety valve he'd just inserted on the curse, but if he needed it, it would be waiting. And if he didn't, well…then everything would proceed according to plan, they would go to the Land Without Magic, and Rumplestiltskin would find his son.
THE END
A/N:Thank you to everyone who has read this story! I may someday write a sequel to it, but at this point, the tale of how Rumplestiltskin changes after letting Belle stay with him in the Dark Castle is complete. Please do check out my other works, and thank you again for reading!