A/N: Thanks all you awesome people for reading and reviewing! Forgive me if the chapter sucks…so much writers block for this one also my internet is acting up, so yay for that…On a side note, who else thinks the new cover thing FF implemented is neat?
~8~8~
After the jarring pewter explosion in the kitchen, not to mention the predicament both master and servant found themselves almost in, Belle's was eager to sequester herself far away as possible from the Dark One to figure out what had nearly occurred between them.
It hadn't been her imagination, she knew he had neared her; his ebony orbs searching her until they pierced and wrapped about her very soul with their voided eternal darkness.
She had been so drawn to him like a moth to a dancing flame. She couldn't help it; his rough hands cupping her face, the sickly sweet aroma of his dark magic that was both wonderful and terrible in its own exotic elixir, with his slate onyx eyes tempting, goading, coaxing her to meet his thin gray lips with her lush full own, enchanted her with the power of his mere touch that claimed more of the beauty than any deal ever could.
Then the stench of acrid smoke had yanked them apart as if it's tendrils of gray vapor had been physical claws that slashed through what mystical enrapture they had so inadvertently wandered into.
His eyes once so soft and open had hardened like hard flecks of black steel mingled with fear as he sprinted out of the kitchen. Leaving her dazed and mystified as if waking from a wonderful life-like dream only to find that it was flitting fancy of imagination conjured of a tired wistful mind.
Oh but there was no denying it, for a brief instance she had seen something flashing amidst his onyx orbs. Something that made her heart want to soar in ecstasy and weep in blissful joy all at once in some tangled web of emotion.
The beauty sighed in frustration mingled with wistful pondering as she dusted one of the huge guestrooms on the second tier of the Dark Castle. Spring was more or less blooming lush over all the realms as winter retreated, meaning Spring Cleaning would take most of the servants time until the castle was back to its polished gleam.
The room she toiled in was very odd, which was why it had been the first she been drawn to tidy up. It was a massive chamber that had been gilded and lavished to the extreme but not in a gaudy fashion. Where all the other rooms, save her own and she supposed her masters, were bare of linens on the beds and remained cold and bare and shut to the world, this particular chamber looked as if her puissant master were expecting some one to come home at any moment.
It must hold some fond memory, Belle concluded insightfully as she pulled open the light brown curtains to let the golden rays of sun in to drench the room in early spring warmth. She had been around Rum long enough to know he never just did something for nothing, yet now with what had happened earlier she didn't dare find him to ask even though her infamous curiosity flared inside like a tiny ember of flame.
Now with the golden orb of day filtering through the room, Belle could plainly see a thin layer of gray dust coating everything thanks to the winter reprieve where the upper tier remained mostly unattended.
Making a mental note to inquire of the room in the future the beauty padded to the nearby closet, hoping fresh, and un-moth nibbled linens resided inside.
Plain blue silk sheet, embroidered with golden thread knit in complex patterns around its edges met her gaze as she yawned the closest open slowly. Her brow knit furtively as she smoothed her hand across the fine cloth. Such luxury for this one room; but why?
A sigh slipped quietly past her lips as she shook her head sagely before scooping the bed linens in her arms. At times there were no answers to the puzzling conundrums that her master had in his citadel. Many times his reason simply where his own.
Striving to keep the mountains of sheets from tumbling to the floor and closing the closest door all at the same time, the beauty precariously watched her balanced to keep the silks in her grip when a dirty flash of light caught the corner of her eye.
Curiosity now fully an inferno blazing inside, the beauty back pedaled from the closet and absently dumped the linens on the bed; her chores momentarily forgotten in the heat of her inquisitiveness.
She was back to the dark dim closest in a heart beat, kneeling down to the bit of light that glimmered against the suns rays that engulfed the room.
A part of her whispered cautiously it might be some forbidden object akin to the dagger, but Belle immediately shook the unlikely thought away. Rum would not hide something nearly so precious in the back of a closet like an outdated garment! Still, a bit of wariness held her in thrall as she pawed away the gray wispy cobwebs at the bottom of the closet to help get a better look at what was buried so deep.
Drawing the wardrobe's thick double doors at full length to allow the beams of flaxen light to brighten what it could, a few tarnished silver buckles that glimmered in slivers of light from the dark recess of the closet.
In moments Belle grabbed the large object, and grunted determinedly in effort as she pulled it out from its dark corner.
The light revealed it to be a thick chestnut trunk with supple leather straps and buckles that kept it sealed from the elements of ravenous moths and decay of years. Unlike the tiny ornate chest that held the Dark One's covetous blade the trunk was rather hefty. Its thick wood looked ancient and warping though was firmly clamped together with the leather that felt as if it was fresh from the tanner rack.
A curious slant of her lips sprung to Belle's features as her clever hands deftly unhooked the buckles to see what lay in the chest. There was nothing ominous about the ancient trunk albeit its curious presence tucked away amidst the dank apertures of an old wardrobe assuaging some of her trepidation.
A small cloud of disrupted dust wafted through the air as the beauty flipped the top open to reveal it contents. Belle coughed and swiped at the air to send the particle shooing to dance in the suns rays as she peered into the trunk.
Clothes. Very old, rough sewn, coarse linen garments in faded colors of burgundies and browns and grays.
Picking up the first neatly folded tan tunic, Belle hoisted it up to the light, her azure eyes glinting in confusion as she searched the rough cloth. All the garbs were small as if for a young peasant boy, a few even showed signs of play where at the dirty fraying fringes of some of the breeches and at the knees still stained with mud of ages past.
"Why would he have these?" Belle inquired softly as she rested the shirt in her lap; her hands smoothing over the coarse fibers.
Where they gotten in some sort of bargain; bartered for some strange favor? But no, Rum collected only the finest or oddest of trinkets that caught his eyes. He only bartered for the exquisite that had taken his fancy. The troves of glimmering treasures he had hoarded and collected over his endless centuries that she so studiously kept clean were sheer testament to that.
So why had she discovered these stashed away at the back of a closet in a lavish chamber fit for a king?
The faint creaking of wood made Belle jump, slightly jarring her from her puzzled reprieve. A low curse spat past her lips as she realized she had slipped into distraction instead of tending to her chores. She could almost hear her masters ostentatious quips if he so happened to spy her looking at a ragged chest of clothes rather than completing her duties.
Quickly she folded the coarse cloth as neatly as she had found it before solemnly laying in back into its place. In a few moments all was back in order though leaving far more for the beauty to contemplate as she turned back to her tasks.
~8~8~
The warm spring sun turned the Dark One's eyes into twin glimmering pools of onyx as he gazed at the noontide sun. Rays of gold glinted off his scaly gray-green flesh flecking his features with light that almost appeared to give his face a luminance.
The previous day he and Belle had stayed a fair distance from one another, barely bantering with a few low voice words, and never meeting eye to eye. Both, although unknown to the other, had been pondering their private thoughts about the other.
So far the magical beast had not decided on a way to prove if Belle maybe had some sort of feeling for him. Nothing seemed…right. No test felt adequate, no question grounded enough. But today something had to happen, the awkwardness, the unexpected meetings, the silent staring had to end.
Yes, yesterday they had spent the day being cowardly, sulking around one another, each brooding in their contemplations. But toady, today, each had sworn to themselves, they were going to be brave.
Rum stirred his usual cup of tea absently as he peered intently out of the window, now once again free of their dark velveteen drapes. The new warmth, like that in his heart, was curious and refreshing and made him feel…odd, yet not in a foul way. It was as if a long frigid winter was being melted away in his heart as well as the land.
From the corner of his eye he could see Belle close by; idly toying with the tea spoon still dug into the sugar bowl; her own thoughts carefully hidden.
Taking a sip of his tea, the Dark One savored the scrumptious mulled flavor before inching away from his position. His hid a smile as Belle trailed innocently, almost playfully, behind him until he turned about to face her.
The beauty instantly paused, a faint smirk edging the side of her mouth as she propped herself up along the large oaken table. "I have a question to ask you." She finally stated boldly after summoning up her courage.
"Ask away, Dearie." The fiend replied, hiding a smile he could no longer suppress behind the chipped rim of his cup as he took a sip of the brew.
Belle gazed down, plucking absently at the fibers of her blue dress; heaving her shoulders in a tactful careless shrug. "I've been thinking, and I'd like to know why you bought me?"
An amused snort quietly emanated from the beast as he proffered his hand about the cleaned main hall as if it were quite obvious. "You saw what this place used to be like; absolutely wretched and filthy till I procured you to keep the place squeaky clean."
"Oh, and the all powerful Dark One cannot simply wave his hand and command a few dishes to scrub themselves and dust to flit away?" Belle remarked in jest, as a chuckle escaped her lips. The humor was gone a moment later as she tenderly sobered, as a small knowing smile softly etched across her features. "You know what I think? I think you desired some company."
Inside, the Dark One's heart constricted in a vice as he realized what dangerous dance they had suddenly enjoined. He wasn't the only one feeling brave today, he noted in surprise to himself, though kept his features strictly neutral.
In truth, some of her words were spot on. After all his centuries traipsing through the world all by his lonesome, then coming to a great stony palace that often felt more like a tomb than a home, he craved a little noise, a little companionship in the citadel. Yet never had he expected to feel so…drawn to the woman that fate had finally garnered him to pluck up from her life and steal her away with him so at least there was something to look forward to when coming back to his lavish castle.
"So I was cleaning upstairs yesterday and I found clothes for a small child." The beauty pressed on, seeing that her master had sunk into some silent inner reprieve of soul. "Where they yours? A son, perchance?" She inquired, curiously.
Bae. Rum's heart clenched at the mere thought. She had found Bae's clothing, not that he had hidden them away. He was simply surprised she had unearthed them after being tucked away for so long.
Nodding slowly, the fiend leaned against the table beside her; looking deeply into the last swirling dredges of tea in his cup. "Aye, there was a son." He replied quietly; gathering up his bravery. Ever since she arrived Belle had made him want to open up his dark soul. He trusted her, yet it was more than simple trust. "But I lost him as I did his mother." He finished forlornly, his words tapering off as the fiend fell back into his dire contemplation.
"Oh. I'm so sorry." Belle apologized gently. Her hand involuntarily went to his shoulder, squeezing slightly in a way that made his heart race. "He must have been very dear to you. Not many men would try to keep the last thing they had to remember their son."
"But I'm not a man. Not anymore…" Rum replied sagely with a saddened smile. His ebony orbs had a far away misty look as if he were staring back into the past, back to his son, his Bae and when he had truly lost his humanity that loathsome cold night in the heart of the forest.
"So you where a man once." She whispered more to herself than to him. " A regular, ordinary man."
If only she knew, he thought wryly. The ordinary, Rumpelstiltskin was weak, feeble, hobbling about as a cripple and forcing to lick the plate boots of dishonorable knights who were addicted to their own power and loved tormenting the less fortunate for their own sinister sport.
The human Rumpelstiltskin was a nobody; a bug crawling through the world fearing to be squashed, but the Dark One was the most powerful man in all the realms whom everyone knew and feared with just cause.
"Will you tell me about him; your son? Will you tell me about your life before the Dark One?" She inquired tenderly, knowing full well she treaded upon tumultuous ground. Somewhere deep down inside she had a inkling of knowledge that with that memory of the son held some form of him intact still lurking deep inside.
No, he couldn't speak to her of Bae. That would be wounds reopened all over again leaving only a bloody lonely dread in their wake that had taken centuries to balm.
As he remained stonily silent, lost in his own thoughts, the beauty slide a trifle closer to her master, her voice gentle. "If I'm to never know another soul for the rest of eternity, may I at least know you, Rumpelstiltskin? Where you come from; who you are?" Belle asked as she cocked her head slightly to the side as if the new angle would give something away.
A brief smile flitted the Dark One's gray lips as he wagged a scolding finger at her, his tone joking. "Maybe you just want to learn the beast's weaknesses, eh? A bit of espionage?"
"You are not a beast, Rum." Belle rebuffed with a slight snort and a mild shake of the head send her amber honey curls tumbling about. "Beasts are cruel and wicked which you are not. You think you're uglier than you truly are which is why you nail down drapes and cover mirrors with sheets, isn't it?"
Was she always so perceptive? Rumpel thought, mildly taken aback by the beauty's insight. He thought himself as some foul craven, yet he knew she saw him different. She saw what lay hidden behind the scales and the snickers and the darkness. She saw Rumpelstiltskin.
A booming knock on the door suddenly jolted him from traversing amidst his thoughts bringing him back to reality. His brow furrowed in curiosity as his head swiveled to the direction of the door.
From behind he heard Belle mutter a small sigh before slipping down quietly from the table. "I know, I know, off to my room." She filled in before he could speak the words.
"No. Stay." He commanded simply; his hand gently resting on her arm. The fiend didn't know what made him say the words, but he refused to sequester Belle away as if she were some dirty secret he was trying to hide from the world.
He could tell without even looking Belle was surprised, yet pleased with his order, and stood standing next to the table as the magical monster strode leisurely to the huge double doors of the Dark Castle.
~8~8~
Gaston was feeling better than he had in the many months holed away in the evil monarchs palace with only a spattering of rebellious half-starving peasants to terrorize and a few brawls with some rowdy drunkards.
He was ready and dressed for battle with the beast so that he could reclaim Belle and her father's kingdom. A thick chain mail shirt given to him by the queen hung under his blue and black tunic, and of course his secret weapon her majesty had bestowed upon him rested in his hand. A blade that looked ordinary and felt ordinary but she had assured him at every turn it was extremely magical and powerful to aid him in slaying the foul magical monster.
A wicked smirk weaseled upon his chiseled features as his mind dully toyed with the thoughts of gutting the devious Rumpelstiltskin and running the 'enchanted' steel through his chest and carving his black heart out. He even dare fancy he'd take the heart back to his manor and place it in his trophy room along with his other glorious kills he had garnered over the years.
He kept the blade upraised and at the ready, his body tensed for a hand to hand battle now that Regina had insured him the beast's magic was useless as long as he held the blade.
Of course only Regina knew there was nothing magical whatsoever about the steel or the armor.
The evil queen stared intently into a gilded golden mirror, looking out of the very fringe of the forest just tenderly toeing the line of Rumpel's magical estate to spy what was happening.
Any insight she had on the fiend was a blessing, and now purposefully sending the idiotic knight to his doom put her in a sinisterly favorable mood.
An amused smile hinted at the edge of her painted lips as she crossed her arms, looking at the knight so brazenly slamming at the fiend's door, unwittingly heralding his own doom.
~8~8~
With a flick of the wrist the huge double doors groaned open, revealing to Rumpelstiltskin the hulking form of Gaston. The fiend tactfully bit back a laugh at the brute that stood ready to do battle in front of him.
"We meet again, beast." Gaston snarled as he flourished his blade dramatically through the air, brandishing it threateningly.
"Who are you again?" The fiend teased giddily as he put a talon to his chin as if trying to place the knight.
The brute's eyes narrowed angrily at once again being 'forgotten'. Oh but this time it would be different, the foul toad in front of him would forever remember the name of the man who bled him like a stuffed pig. "I am sir Gaston!" He revealed heroically. "And you, beast have-"
"Oh yes you're the one who I allowed to live." Rum interrupted uncaringly; his high pitched timbre sly. "Yet it seems you've not wanted to abide by my gracious offer. Ah well, mores the pity."
Before the knight could move to attack, before a battle cry could even burst from his lips. The fiend snapped his dexterous talons, a satisfied grin wide upon his scaly features as a purple haze surrounded the dunce.
In a split second all that remained of Gaston was a blooming rose laying where the knight had once stood. A sinister chortle echoed quietly from the fiend as he admired his handiwork before quickly plucking it up. Not only would it make a lovely little gesture to his Belle, but he had done his good dead for the decade and rid the realms of one less idiot.
~8~8~
Regina could only stare in shock and cheated awe as she watched the fiend turn back inside with the rose that had once been Gaston in hand.
She had hoped, nay, expected the Dark One to torture the moronic cretin. She desired to hear his pleading screams for mercy and listen for the sweet sound of his flesh being seared away by magic. Others had done far less against the Dark One and had been subject to worst torment than being conjured into flora!
The witch cursed foully as she punched a hand to the wall, feeling very disappointed Rumpel had not offered her a show. Was that slave making him soft?
The thought made her momentarily let her anger flit away and make her consider the sudden notion.
If her love was wearing upon his heart perhaps then it was making him weak. Love did of course, it made the strong weak and forced the weak to get weaker instead of fighting their way to grandeur. She had learned that the hard way, hadn't she?
An utterly wicked smile bloomed upon her lush ruby lips at the sudden answer to her long fought problem of the Dark One.
Love. Love was the key, for love made people weak. It was a bane, a scourge not strength and if Rumpel had fallen for its poisonous bite then it was only a matter of time before Regain could use it to her advantage.
~8~8~
"Who was that?" Belle inquired curiously as the Rum reappeared in the main hall.
The fiend shrugged lazily as he strolled in, his hands folded behind his back. "No one really. An old woman selling flowers that'd lost her way." He lied smoothly; with just a hint of regret.
He hated lying to Belle, but he highly doubted she would have enjoyed the truth that he had turned her former fiancé into a rose.
A soft smile marbled across his face as he revealed the long stemmed rose from behind his back. "Here." He presented it to her elegantly, a bit of a smug smirk tugging the edge of his lips. "If you'll have it."
Her eyes flashed in surprise at the unexpected gift, but warmed instantly to the proffered trinket. "That was very kind of you." She replied, dipping in a courtly curtsy.
Always the gentlemen, he offered her a regal bow as if he might be a petitioning dance partner at a ball.
Belle couldn't help but giggle at his action before she turned to tend to his thoughtful gift. Her fingers smoothed over the velvet softness of the petals as she held it close to her heart. How could someone so sweet label themselves a beast? She thought puzzlingly.
He never thought she looked so beautiful standing there, with the light bouncing off her amber honey curls, admiring and sniffing the little trinket appreciatively; loving such a simple thing instead of adoring gems and jewels and silks and riches like any other princess would.
How had he ever managed to convince her, so lovely and beautiful and sweet and wonderful to ever sell herself to him? That was a true mystery for even the wisest of folk. "You had a life, Belle before all of…" He paused flourishing his finger through the air at the grandness surrounding him. "This. Why did you choose to sell yourself to me?" He asked before slipping into his normal seat at the end of the table. His fingertips formed a loose triangle as he peered at the beauty intently with his onyx orbs as she searched for a vase.
"If I recall I was the only thing you'd accept." She countered easily, her tone almost playful.
"But you still did not have to accept. No one would blame you for desiring to keep your freedom; your life out of the hands of a monster." He rebuffed gracefully. "So why choose to sacrifice your freedom?"
Belle shrugged slightly and she pruned the lower stem from the long rose. "Back home women do not have equal treatment with the men. We're expected to stay home cowering in the dark, wringing our hands, and looking after more strapping boys to do battle and make our land prosper with trade. There is no true way a woman can be a heroine. I suppose when you came there was a chance for me to actually do something brave."
"But you must have been terrified coming here with me." He ventured, intrigued.
"True, but as my mother used to say 'be brave and bravery will follow'. If I was brave enough to accept your deal then I knew I could handle anything." She replied with a slight stalwart smile as she placed the rose in the vase on the center of the table.
The fiend couldn't help but grin at her courageous words. "But what about your hopes and dreams?"
"Well, at a time I did want to see the world. Foreign lands, far away kingdoms, different places of sand and stone and sea." She smiled wistfully, as she propped herself back up on the table, and smiled a tad mischievously. "That part didn't really work out, but I had enough courage to save my fathers kingdom."
"And what about…" The beast paused for a moment, trying to chalk up his bravery. He truly didn't want to bring up Gaston, but he had to, he needed to make certain. "Your betrothed." He finished, feigning careless interests as he flourished his fingers lazily through the air. "Surely you must miss the man you were about to wed."
The chestnut haired beauty's features scrunched up slightly at the words as if a bad taste was in her mouth. Gaston: brute, hunter, knight could there have been any worse mismatch in history? "Truth be told, I never much cared for Gaston. My father arranged the marriage when he began to grow ill. He wanted to be certain the people had another king ready when his time came." She replied quietly when thinking of her papa. "I never loved him. No, to me love is layered; veiled. There are fathoms and depths that we must plunge to get to the true love that lay beneath shrouds that surround our hearts and souls." She replied; looking directly into his midnight gaze fearlessly.
The Dark One's throat tightened at her words, his heart drumming crazily in his chest. Those words; almost the exact ones she had used in her letter. Could she really…might she…?
He had to make certain, he had to be positive before…before what?
"Enough about me." Belle remarked as she leaned towards him curiously; not willing to give up her interest so easily. "We were discussing your son. Will you tell me about him?"
"I'll make you a deal." He stated suddenly, a smile fighting to bloom across his face as his tone shook in anxiousness. "Go to the village and fetch me some straw. When-" If he wanted to say but bit it back. "You return I'll share my tale."
Go to the village? Belle's mind reeled at the words as they echoed in her mind like some unbelievable tale. With all she knew, with his angry words long ago telling her she'd never leave; never see another person he was allowing her to go to town. "But…you forbade me from venturing past the castle walls? You trust me to come back?" She asked in shock.
"Not at all." He replied forlornly with a demure smile; his heart twisting in agony.
The test, the only true test that he could give her was to set her free to see if she did come back. His heart felt as if it was drowning in a sea of despair, but he had to know. "In fact, I doubt I will never see you again…" The fiend admitted mournfully, hoping the hoarseness in his voce did not betray the disparity he felt thrashing his soul.