SMOKE AND ASHES
Gold, along with Belle, Emma, Archie and Jefferson, are driven back to Asheville by David. When they arrive they find a dark cloud surrounding The House. Gold has difficulties dispelling the cloud using his own energies but once Belle lends her strength to his, the cloud pulls back. Gold recognizes the dark cloud's magic as one of his father's distinctively murky spells; Gold knows that his father wants to see him. He thinks that fulfilling this undesirable filial duty will provide him the cover he needs to search for the fourth scroll and section of the dagger.
Belle suggests she accompany him to Underworld, but Gold tells her it is unsafe and he will not consider it. They share their feelings and Belle stays with Gold that night in his apartment. In the morning they find that Belle's clothes have been moved to his apartment.
Chapter 25
A Fateful Decision
alert: a little smut in this chapter
"Why are my clothes in your closet?" Belle asked him.
"I . don't . know," he answered slowly. "Unless . . . The House brought them here," he told her.
"Like it combined Mary Margaret's and David's stuff?" she asked.
"Maybe."
Belle looked through the clothing and then caught a glimpse of something on the shelf above the clothing rod. "Is that my book? The Pride and Prejudice you gave me?" she asked.
He reached up and handed it down to her. "It would appear so."
She opened it and found her money, all the money that she had patiently and carefully hidden around her apartment had been place in the book. Belle rushed into his kitchen and found, amidst his high end china a neat stack of the mis-matched china he had given her. She found a bouquet of fresh flowers sitting in a drinking glass on the counter. She peeked into the bathroom and her scant toiletries were set around the tub and sink. She went back into the bedroom.
"The House has moved me in with you!" she told him.
Gold shrugged. "So The House approves of our liaison."
"But I would have preferred to make the decision myself!" Belle told him.
"You don't want to be here with me?" Was this a rejection? She didn't mind sleeping with him but she didn't want to live with him? Was she being rushed? Was she just using him to satisfy her curiosity about men?
Belle immediately came to him and put her arms around him. "Of course I want to be with you. I just would have preferred to . . . well, perhaps we spend a little more time together and then have you ask me first and then I could've said yes and we would have spent an afternoon moving my stuff and deciding what I was going to keep and where it would go and . . . "
"Well, this saves a lot of time," he summed it up. He didn't want to argue against her being in his apartment, his bed. He thoroughly approved of Belle being moved into his apartment, his life.
"So what's in my old apartment?" she asked.
"Get dressed and we'll go see on the way out to eat," he told her.
Belle selected some clothing and went into his bathroom to freshen up. Gold looked up at the ceiling. "You might have rushed things," he said to The House. "I don't mind it at all, but Belle's a lady and you have to be . . . considerate of a lady's sensibilities."
"Who are you talking to?" he heard Belle's voice coming from the bathroom.
"Uhmmm. . . just myself," he answered.
Belle came out of bathroom back in one of her usual tiered skirts and a tank top. She had pulled her poufy, wirey hair back and tied it with one of his silk handkerchiefs. And she was wearing her pink lipstick.
"You are so beautiful," he said without thinking.
Belle dropped her eyes and blushed. "Thank you." She looked him over. The old three-piece suit Gold was back. "You look wonderful."
"I thought you liked me in the jeans and tee-shirt?"
"That too," she told him. She picked up her coat and headed towards the door. Gold followed her down the stairs. They stopped on the second floor and went to Belle's old apartment.
When they got to what had been her room, they found the door opened easily. They saw immediately that the floor plan had changed. There was still a small bathroom but otherwise the walls were lined with shelves. And on the shelves there were the books that had been stored in stacks upstairs. There was a single large table and several comfortable chairs. Lovecraft was curled up in one of the chairs.
It was now a library. Belle first went to Lovecraft to greet the cat and stroke his fur. The cat stretched and trilled at her before giving Gold a steady stare. Belle then went through pulling books off the shelves to look at them. "Wow, it's kept together the ones I had gotten sorted and then just set the others off here and there. I still have some work to do here," she told him.
"Sounds like between keeping my shop clean and sorting out this little library you will have your hands full."
Belle turned to face him, "You are determined not to take me on this next venture, aren't you."
"It's for your own safety, Belle," he had taken her by the elbow and was leading her down the hallway to the stairs. "I can't impress on you how dangerous it would be for you to go into this hellhole."
"You think I can't take care of myself?"
"I don't think you would hold up very well if you were torn limb from limb. And knowing all the things that could happen to you down there, that would be a blessing. There are things worse than death," he told her. He stopped in to speak to Leroy who was minding the shop. "We'll be back after a little breakfast and I can take over."
"No problems boss. This is easy work," the dwarf told him.
As they went out the shop door, Belle picked up again, "You're saying I would be physically attacked if I went with you?" She wasn't going to let it drop.
"You could be," he told her as they walked down the street to the Rankin Street garage.
"So without a sensitive like myself or Archie, how are you going to find the scroll?" she persisted.
"I'll just hang out and figure it out," he said lamely.
"That's not going to work. You know that."
"I don't know what I'm going to do, all right?" he said a bit crossly. "I'll figure out something when I get there."
"That doesn't sound very efficient," she told him.
He glared at her but didn't make any response. Belle dropped it as they drove out to Merrimon and Edna's for a late morning breakfast.
She got a croissant with bacon, egg, tomato, cheese, spinach and mayo. He got the bagel with lox on cream cheese. She got the café au lait and he got a hot tea.
As they drove back to The House, Belle sighed. "I know you feel it's very dangerous for me to go. You're trying to protect me. But I know you are very powerful. There's no way I could go . . . under your protection?" she asked quietly.
He signed. She must suspect that there was a way and she wasn't going to let it go. "All right. Belle, there is a way. But it's not one that I would ever want to do, especially not with you . . . to you."
"What is it?" she was most interested.
"You could go as my. . . uh. . . like my. . . my. . . uh. . . my pet," he said slowly.
"I don't understand," she didn't.
"You would wear my collar."
"Is that all?" she asked.
"It's not all, Belle. The collar's not fake. It's one of my father's more creative inventions."
"I'm missing something," she admitted.
Gold sat silently for a moment. "We couldn't get away with using a fake collar. It wouldn't fool all these creatures. And a real collar would compel you to obey me."
"Obey you?"
"Any and all commands. It produces some . . . uh. . . unnatural . . .desires . . . in the wearer also," he wasn't looking at her.
"Am I following this? I could go if I wear a collar that would make me your . . . sex slave?"
He nodded, unable to respond to her.
Belle digested this. She trusted this man, but to put yourself completely into the power of another person. . .
"Belle, I never liked what these people considered as entertainment. My father likes to take magical beings and take away their magic. He likes to take beautiful women. . . and attractive young men . . . and take away their will. He developed cuffs and collars that would do this. I've managed to collect a number of these devises, not to use mind you, just to get them away from people who would use them. They're in one of the boxes in the Artifacts Room." He refused to make eye contact with her when he was sharing this.
"What did you mean when you said the collar produces unnatural desires?" she asked him. "Would someone wearing this collar want to hurt other people, lie, steal, cheat?"
"Nothing like that," he answered her.
"Then what?"
"It keeps the wearer in a . . . receptive . . . mood," he was most uncomfortable in sharing this.
Belle considered this, "Oh."
"Do you understand now?" he asked.
"I do, but . . . if there isn't any other choice for you . . . I . . . I would be willing to risk it."
"Well, I would not. Belle, there is. . . I am . . . I have a dark side to me. You may have noticed," he told her contritely. "I would be afraid that having that much power over someone else would bring out that dark side and I might . . . I could possibly. . . well, it might not go so well for you."
"You would never hurt me," she told him.
"I don't want to do this," he told her.
+ + + Mid-day Saturday
Milah moved in to take possession of Belle once they had gotten back to The House from their breakfast. She smiled at Gold, "You are wanting your old Belle back, I'm assuming," she said to him.
"I am," he assured her. "I'm trusting you again Milah."
"I won't fail you," Milah told him. She actually smiled at him, a genuine smile, not one of her efforts aimed at seduction. She and Belle left out together.
Gold released Leroy and went back to stand behind his counter. He began by trying to fathom the organizational systems that Leroy and Regina had used to keep track of his business ventures (apparently Leroy had not used any organizational system whatsoever and Regina had used the random intuitive method). He then began reviewing all their receipts (dismal). Then there were acquisitions (what were they thinking? – this is what happens when you leave a dwarf and a bean counter in charge) and sales (borderline – they must have spent their time talking people out of buying anything).
He walked through his shop. It needed dusting - obviously having missed Belle's tender attentions. He stopped outside the Artifacts Room. He sighed. He hoped he had convinced Belle that going with him to Undertown was a bad idea, a terrible idea, a horrible, too-awful-to-contemplate idea. He wasn't sure he would survive collaring her and going through with a harsh pretense of keeping her as a pet.
There was also that other reason why he didn't want to go with him. She was always looking at him with caring and affection and he did not want how she looked at him to change, to change to disgust and horror – he didn't want that to happen.
+ + + + Plans
Regina dropped by in the late afternoon.
"Have you come up with a plan yet?" she asked him without preamble.
"Just going in to see my father and winging it," he told her.
"That doesn't sound like you. You don't take a piss without a plan."
"Always so pleasant, Regina."
She leaned in. "I think you know what you're going to have to do but you don't want to do it."
He didn't respond to her.
"You're going to have to take someone who can sense where the scroll and dagger piece is. There are only two in this house that can do that. Archie might could do it, but Belle is definitely capable. You just don't want to do what you're going to have to do to take her with you."
Gold glared at Regina. "You know that you could also be capable of sensing the things out. You're Earth energies. They're good at finding lost items."
Regina smile, "My abilities would likely not be strong enough. Plus you'd have to deal with all my family mess. It'd be distracting." Regina walked around the counter so that she was on the same side as he stood.
"Have you told her? Have you explained what you're going to have to do?"
"Why are you doing this?"
"Just wondering how deep your feelings go for this girl. If you didn't care for her, you'd have her collared and stripped down by now. You must really care for her. Be careful. We both know how caring for someone has worked out for you in the past." Regina pulled back. "You are the most powerful entity I've ever met. I learned more from you in a week than I learned from everyone else in a year. I respect you. Hell, I'm afraid of you. I want to be on your side because I think you'll win."
Gold sighed. He waited a moment. "I'm going to have to take her if I want to get this done, aren't I?" he asked.
"You are. Gold, I'm sorry. I wouldn't want to take a dog I didn't liked down to be around my mother or my sister. I can dimly imagine how reluctant you are. You need to decide if it's worth it."
"Oh it's worth it," he answered slowly.
Regina's face showed concern, "You just don't want to do it."
He nodded in agreement.
"Take Killian. He's a sleazy piece of work. He'll distract my mother for sure."
"I was thinking Ruby's a good bet also," he added.
Regina nodded. "You're right. She's not going to get spooked or intimidated by any of those lowlifes."
"And she could provide protection for Belle . . . " he began.
"If something happens to you," Regina finished.
+ + + Back in the Artifacts Room
Belle had come back in with shining chestnut curls. She still had her tan but he knew that would fade in due time. He wanted to run his hand through her hair; it looked so silky and inviting.
"I thought Milah did a great job," Belle told him swinging her hair back and forth.
He couldn't resist and threaded his fingers through her hair. They slid through, the locks wrapping themselves around his long fingers. He couldn't resist, pulling her to him and kissing her gently on the lips.
She rested her head on his shoulder, breathing in his scent. "I guess I should get to work," she told him.
"You should. This place has just fallen into a disreputable state since you've not been here to take care of it," he told her smiling, still holding her in his arms.
"I guess I'll get my dust cloth and broom and get to work." She showed no sign of moving on.
"I think they're in the work room." He still showed no sign of letting her go.
They stood holding each other, enjoying just touching each other.
"You made a decision, didn't you?" she finally asked him.
"Yeah," he admitted.
"It's going to have to be the collar?" she asked.
He nodded, "I don't want to do what I have to do."
"Is it here? Now? In the Artifacts Room?" she asked him.
He pulled back from her. He walked to the front of the shop and changed the sign to Closed. He locked the door.
"Come," he ordered her succinctly.
She followed him back into the creepy Artifacts Room. It was colder than she remembered. Greyer than she remembered.
The shelves in the room went up to the ceiling and Gold used the ladder to find his way over and up to the right shelf. He brought down a metal box.
Belle put her hand out. Without touching it she moved her hands around the box. "I don't feel anything," she told Gold.
"You shouldn't. This is vorpal metal," he explained. "And the lock and wards are mine."
Belle reached over and cautiously touched the lock. She built up her courage and took it into her hand and tugged it gently. The lock came undone.
"What did you just do?" he asked sharply. He had watched her pull on the lock and watched it come undone.
She looked up at him and meekly answered, "I told it to open."
"I had wards on that box! Powerful wards! Did you not feel them?" he asked.
"Noooo," she answered bewildered. "What would they have felt like?"
"They should have prevented you from touching the box. Under no circumstance should you have been able to touch the lock. You should not have been able to open that box with a spell made of sledgehammers," he was astonished.
"Is this like when we get through each others shields?" she asked.
He looked pained. "I hope the hell so or my magic has totally slipped." He was shaking his head. He waved his hand over the box. "No, my wards are still there. Still intact," he said to himself. "You just told the lock to open?" He shook his head again. "Damn."
"Well, do we open the box?" she asked him.
"Sure," and he reached over and flipped the lid.
Belle peeked in from behind him, looking around and standing on tiptoes to see what was in the box.
"Bit of let down?" he asked.
Belle could see leather things and metal things and something golden. She stepped around him. "Can I pick any of these up?" she asked.
"Yes, but I wouldn't try anything on," he warned her.
Belle found a sturdy leather cuff. She picked it up and quickly dropped it. It smelled of dark magic.
"One of my father's extra special devices," he said bitterly.
"What . . . what does it do?"
"You put it on any magical being, like you or me, and it completely neutralizes their magic."
Belle nodded solemnly.
Gold looked disgusted as he placed the offensive cuff back into the box, "If I knew how to destroy the damn thing I would."
Belle picked up a metal cuff and immediately dropped it. It burned her. This item was an iron band, like a manacle.
"Oh, this one was made especially to go on one of the high-born, a fairy. It causes them excruciating pain and neutralizes their abilities. You can kill a fairy that is wearing one of these. My father caught one of them for sport and . . . and he used it on her. He kept her prisoner for months and months, tormenting her just for his amusement before I was able to help her get away. She has remained one of the few Fae that I would count as a friend, or at least an almost friend."
Belle looked at him, "Marilyn?" she asked with her empathic insight.
"Yeah," he confirmed
Belle shuddered. Marilyn was forced to wear that thing for months.
"How about this one?" she asked, this time picking up a silver manacle.
"That, ah, that one goes on one of my kind. Works just like the iron cuff."
Belle shook her head and placed it back in the box.
"And this?" Belle picked up the oddest contraption. It appeared to be something that would go around the waist but had one long piece that hung from it and would reconnect with the waist piece.
"Go ahead and put that one back in the box," Gold told her. Belle glanced at him. Was the man blushing? "It's used with other . . . devices . . . to . . . stimulate a woman pretty much to the point she'd go insane."
"Oh," said Belle examining it, "How does it work?" she asked innocently.
"The devices can be attached to the strap and they're inserted into. . . uh. . . into her. . . uh. . . lady place and her . . . um. . . another place. Then the devices are set to . . . . ," he gave up. "Put it back, will you."
"Oh," said Belle and this time she quickly set it back down. "Now this?" she picked up a golden collar. "Is this the one we want?"
Gold nodded. He took the collar from Belle and examined it. "I think I can pull some of the threads out of this collar which may make it weaker. You may be able to retain some of your autonomy, some of your own self." And he worked with some of the metal threads, pulling them out of the collar.
"Why don't we try it? Here? For just a little while. See how it goes for us?" she asked him and lifted her hair away from her neck.
He looked up, "Belle, you know I don't want to do this. You know I . . ." his voice broke.
"I'll be fine. How bad can it be?" she asked him with a smile.
"There are some behaviors that are inherent in the collar." He began, "You'll feel them right away. Eye contact will be difficult." He hesitated, "Without express permission, it may be difficult for you to talk."
"That one will give me a problem," quipped Belle.
"It may be the only thing about this damned collar that I like," he answered her with a smile. And then an anguished Gold slowly wrapped the golden collar around her throat.
Belle closed her eyes and allowed the magic, dark magic, heavy, potent liquid evil magic, to wash over her. She opened her eyes and locked eyes with him.
"Belle?"
She dropped to her knees, dropping her eyes. Her voice caught in her throat.
"Answer me, Belle. How do you feel?" he asked her, concerned.
Belle felt the compulsion to respond, "I do not know, Ma. . . Master." The word came out of her.
"Uhmm," he could tell she was fighting the control the control he had over her. "I forgot that you would automatically start addressing me as Master."
"Yes Master." Belle blinked, grimacing as she fought the control.
"Belle, are you in pain?" he asked her.
"No, Master." It came out just a little more easily this time.
Gold turned and closed the box, resetting the wards. He carried it back to the ladder and replaced it on the top shelf.
Then he returned, leaned against the table and folded his arms.
"You think you're up for this? That you can handle it? Shall we see how much of your will is well and truly under my control?" He gave her a sad smile. "Stand up and strip for me, Belle. Here and now."
Belle felt herself growing warm. This man had already seen her without a stitch. He had touched her all over, with his fingers, with his lips. But this. . . this was demeaning, humiliating.
She found herself pulling off her tank top and dropping her skirt.
"Do it gracefully," he amended, leaning back and watching her, a hint of a smile crossing his face.
Belle slowed her motions. She leaned down to remove her shoes, turning her back to him at one point so that he would get a viewing of her luscious behind. Then came her socks. She sat on the floor and stretched her legs out as she removed each one of her long black socks. Then she shyly, reached around herself and unfastened her bra, slipping the straps off and holding the bra on with her hands. She turned around again with her back to him and pulled the bra away from her body. She then turned around and slowly, she shimmied out of her underpants. She ended standing naked before the man and knew she was blushing.
"Excellent." He walked over to her and then slowly walked around her.
Belle was trembling. She wasn't sure why. She might have been afraid. She might have been anxious to please him.
"Kneel," he told her curtly.
She immediately complied. She felt his hands on her, pulling her hair back behind her shoulders.
She shifted, rubbing her knees together. She realized that she was oh no, she couldn't be she was aroused. She hoped he wouldn't notice. She nearly whimpered as he meshed his fingers in her hair, relishing the silken feel of her newly polished locks.
"Put the palms of your hands on your thighs," he ordered.
She found herself leaning into his legs. She couldn't stop herself. She kissed his leg, softly, delicately as if she was afraid he would shoo her away. He didn't.
She pressed another soft, open-mouthed wet kiss to his leg through the smooth fabric of the Armani suit he was wearing. She began to kiss him more urgently, kneeling up so that she was now kissing his thigh.
"Belle, sit back," he ordered her. Damn! This was like fucking a woman who'd been rooffied or who was drunk.
She did whimper this time and he could tell she was suffering. Damn collar. He'd had enough of this game.
He reached down and unfastened the collar. He'd expected her to gather up her clothes in outrage but instead she again reached for him, clinging to his legs.
And now she was kissing him again, like she'd been kissing him when she'd been wearing the collar.
"Belle? Are you all right? I've removed the collar. You should be all right," he told her.
But she continued kissing him, wrapping her nude body around his legs. She caressed him through his pants and wrapped her arms around him. He was embarrassed that she found him fully erect.
"So you were aroused too," he heard her murmur. And she rubbed her cheek against him through the fabric of his expensive pants.
"Shamefully, yes I was," he admitted.
"Come down," she told him huskily and he disregarded his bum knee and went down so that he too was kneeling and she was putting her arms inside his jacket and rubbing herself against him.
"You enjoyed it," she told him. "I can tell," and she dropped a hand to caress his hardened cock. "You liked having me strip. You liked having me kneel. You liked when I became aroused," she didn't accuse him, just stated the facts.
"You're a beautiful woman Belle. Having you in my power like that . . . yeah, it was arousing," he agreed.
"Lie down," she told him, pushing him down onto the plush oriental carpet. He was lying on his back while she worked his pants, unfastening his belt and unzipping him, pulling him out and immediately putting him into her mouth. He moaned.
"Belle, you don't . . . oh!"
Belle loved this. This man was always so self-composed, always so in charge. But now he was so losing his composure over her little personal services.
Satisfied that he couldn't possibly get any harder, she lifted up and climbed on top of him.
"No Belle. We need protection!" The man somehow managed to hold her off.
"Where?" she demanded from him breathlessly.
"Wallet," he said succinctly and she fumbled in his pocket to pull out the man's Dunhill wallet and, digging through it, she found the foil wrapper. She opened it and remembering her previous lesson, she quickly swaddled him and then straddled him. She lined him up and lowered herself onto to him and began rocking back and forth pulling herself almost off and then dropping completely down. He caught onto her rhythm and began to push up as she would drop down. He had to smile at her and reached up to cup her breasts which were bouncing up and down with her efforts. He scraped his thumb over her erect nipples and it was her turn to moan. She leaned over to kiss him and one of his hands caught her behind the neck. She felt him pressing her lips apart and soon enough his tongue came into her mouth, mimicking the action his cock was having in her heated vagina.
He pulled back just a bit and she heard him, "Fuck me Belle. Hard, harder," he commanded and she increased her rocking, feeling things begin to build inside of her.
She sat up and felt him lift his hips so that the friction against her clit was increased and that was all it took. She felt herself coming for him, his hands now grasping her hips, holding her so tightly that she suspected she would bruise. Then, as she spiraled into her own abyss of ecstasy she heard him shout out and felt him spasm and jerk several times as he gave himself up to her.
She fell on him and felt herself go boneless.
"That was amazing," she heard him say.
"Uh hummm," she agreed.
"Belle, uhhh, did the collar push you over?" he had to ask.
"Yes, even after you took it off, I was so wound up I couldn't think straight. That collar has a number of possible uses. It's a . . . dark, consuming aphrodisiac."
"Yeah, it seems like I need to work a couple more threads out so that the control isn't quite so complete," he told her.
"If you wish," and she gave him a smirk that was suspiciously like one of his own.
+ + + Much later that day
"Ruby, Killian, are you two all right with this? " They were in the Conference Room sitting at the table across from Gold.
"I think I get it," Ruby began. "We were once a loving couple, but our relationship is in the process of falling apart. He's jealous because I'm always flirting with other men."
"Ach," Killian began. "And you're jealous because you know I'll be unfaithful to you with just any piece of fluff that comes by."
"Gosh, you being unfaithful. That's such a stretch. I'll have to work on it," Ruby turned on him sarcastically.
"Speaking of stretches, I understand that you can put both feet behind your head," Killian responded, leering at the leggy brunette.
"All the better for you to kiss my . . ."
"All right," Gold interrupted. "I think you two have the bickering part down. You understand the more serious part of this?" he asked Killian. "What I need you to do?"
"You want me to encourage beautiful women to vie for my favors, but I am to give special attention to one lady in particular." He smiled at Gold, "It is the curse of being devilishly handsome. I'm up for taking a couple of hits for the home team," he said.
"You understand that this particular beautiful lady is fully capable of ripping your heart out . . . literally?" Gold cautioned the younger man.
"Fortunately for me, most women don't usually expect anything permanent from me, Gold. They know I'm off to the next port when the wind picks up."
"I'm impressed," said Ruby. "I had no idea that you knew you were a cad."
"Haven't found the right woman," he smiled back at her.
"You keep your hands to yourself around me, Jones," Ruby admonished him. "When do we start?" she asked Gold.
"They're open Sunday, of course. So I'd suggest that you start going tomorrow night."
"We can do that," agreed Ruby.
Thanks to all those amazing reviewers (will be incorporating at least one of the ideas that one of you sent me into the next chapter -thx): thedoctorsgirl42, Grace5231973, RaFire, RoxyMoron, cynicsquest, Blueberrysuite7, Robin4, WikiSorcerer, jaime. wan .kanobi, Chauchi, Aletta-Feather, orthankg1, WikiSorcerer, OneMagician, Anne Andrews (Guest), deweymay, MyraValhallah, karolprado, Ying-Fa-dono, and Erik's True Angel
NEXT: Belle selects suitable attire
Gold and Belle descend