Thank Goodness for books. As a child, she'd been swept up in their fantasy, traveling to far off places without ever leaving her father's castle! They'd helped her and her mother learn foreign languages by the dozens and explained politics better than her tutors ever had. When she first arrived in this dreary place she'd missed books most of all and after the event with Robin Hood her library was the best possible gift that he could have given her. Those books hadn't just been an escape from her daily reminders of imprisonment, they'd taught her everything she knew. Every recipe she used, how to do the wash, the right way to clean furniture, how to properly keep a house, books had helped her with every last task in her day to day life. So there was no reason in her mind why it couldn't help her with this task.
The moment Rumpelstiltskin left her alone in the room with a baby in her arms and an order to take care of it until sunset, she'd gotten to work. Yes, of course, she wanted to know what Rumpelstiltskin intended for this child, but she couldn't do that while he was shut away in his workshop with that scroll and the baby was screaming so loud his little face turned red. The first place she went was to her library. There had to be something there that would help her with her new tasks, or one big one she supposed.
She found a few books on babies and children, though most were written for wealthy mothers and suggested tips for hiring wet nurses to care for the infant. Probably because most mothers who could read would be wealthy enough to do just that. Still, if she read between the lines she could find things that were important. "A good wet nurse should be able to think of at least three reasons why a baby is crying. Anyone interviewing who cannot suggest a baby be changed, hungry, or tired without hesitation should be dismissed immediately."
"Okay…changed, hungry, or tired." She looked at the baby screaming in the basket. She was certain that part of his problem of homesickness, he missed his family and all his familiar settings. But when Rumple had brought him in he'd only been crying, not screaming. Something more than homesickness was at play now. She had no idea how to check if he was tired, she'd look that up if the other two failed. But hungry and changed….changed? Like his clothes?
"Diaper!" she recalled snapping her fingers. Babies had diapers secured around them and this baby…he was a mess. "Oh!" she gasped turning up her nose and moving away. Well…the good thing was that she'd learned he was certainly a "he". But she was going to regret putting him on that table to check that. But that was for later, now she just had to get through it. In another book, she found instructions for how to properly clean the…area. And then more for how to fold a diaper from a piece of cloth and pin it or even tie it into place so it wouldn't hurt the baby. She packed up the baby and her books and went down into the kitchen to fetch a new cloth, dispose of the old one, and clean him up outside where she knew that the smell wouldn't seep into the furniture.
The baby settled after that. His screaming and crying stopped, but he still looked pathetic. His face was red, his cheeks and eyes were puffy, the poor thing had screamed himself into a fit. But he was awake and aware and smiled up at her as he squirmed in his basket, which fortunately had not suffered the same fate as his diaper. Clean once more she held him in her arms…and he made a grab for a certain part of her body which made her jump and gasp in surprise and in turn made him break into tears.
"I…I don't…I don't have anything for you! I can't…" So that was how she could tell he was hungry. But she wasn't a wet nurse; she couldn't feed him! The only thing she had around was milk that she suspected was from a cow or a goat! But…it might have been the best she had. He was hungry, and he wouldn't understand an argument about how she had nothing to give. Cow's milk it was! But how…there was nothing in the book about how to feed a baby without a wet nurse, but she knew that he couldn't drink it from a cup. She'd have to improvise. She retrieved the milk from its storage place and still didn't smell bad, another mystery of the castle. And then…and then…cloth! She couldn't just pour it into his little mouth that wouldn't work, but if she allowed for a little at a time or perhaps…a spout! Looking around her kitchen, she spotted an old teapot that they never used and she was sure he wouldn't miss. With a little string, she tied the cloth around the cup of milk and with a knife was able to fit the spout from the now broken teapot snuggly into the crevice. It wasn't exactly perfect, but it was as good as she got. She took the baby upstairs, hoisted him into her arms and was pleasantly surprised with her invention.
"Belle!"
Or at least she was impressed with her invention until he hollered, made the baby choke, and begin to cry all over again. She did her best to soothe him back to comfort and when Rumpelstiltskin approached them, even with his dark demeanor, she couldn't find a sympathetic face. He opened his mouth to speak, but then his eyes caught the special cup she'd fashioned and she saw the look of confusion on his face.
"Well, it's not like I'm a wet nurse!" she snapped. "He has to eat!"
"Of course he does, and I need to rest before tonight. See to it that he keeps quiet," he ordered striding from the room.
"And I don't suppose you're going to tell me what you intend to do to him!" she shouted after him. Of course not. The Dark One merely stalked out of the room, carrying nothing but his blackness with him.
Still hungry, she sat down with the baby, offered him his special cup once more and tried to figure out a plan of some kind for the poor thing.
He wasn't a baby that was rejected by his mother. There wasn't a chance of that. He was dressed well and clean. His blankets were nicely stitched and soft. Someone loved this child, which sadly meant that Rumple had told the truth and really taken him from his home. But why? There had to be a reason that he needed the child. There had to be! He'd stolen her from her home because he needed a maid and because he enjoyed having the company and life in the castle, no matter how much he wanted to deny that. But this baby couldn't do anything. He couldn't cook or clean, he could offer company or conversations the way that she did.
He was planning something. She knew that he was! And more to the point she knew that it wasn't good and she knew that he understood it wasn't good and felt bad for it! How did she know all this? Because of his eyes, they'd betrayed him. Right along with that choked voice of his. But mostly it was the way that he'd avoided looking at her and the baby when she'd asked about him, about the plans that he had. He liked to scare her, or at least he did not that long ago. He always had taken some sick and twisted pleasure in telling her about his plans in an effort, she suspected, to make her shrink from him but not this time around. When she'd asked he hadn't disclosed a thing, except of course guilt. He hadn't even tried to make something up. That wasn't a good sign.
She had to know what he was planning, but how? The answer, she had a feeling, was on the scroll that he'd taken away with him when he returned, probably to his lab where he'd spent his time. Of course, he wasn't there now, but he also wasn't exactly away from the castle either. He was just in his room, "resting", which was odd to her because up until this moment she wasn't sure he'd even slept! "Retired" each and every night, yes, but actually slept? She hadn't believed that he did that.
She could try and go to his lab now, sneak up to his tower without his knowledge, but of course the problem then-
Right on cue the baby pushed the cup away and began the small sobs and cries he had before. She couldn't sneak anywhere with him like this and she certainly couldn't just leave him here after the order to keep him quiet. She didn't know how long it would take her to search for the scroll and she couldn't risk Rumple coming down and finding the baby unattended. The last thing she needed was for him to be suspicious. So…what else could she do? If she had to go up there the poor boy needed to be quiet. How could she manage that?
"Changed, hungry…tired's all that's left," she muttered to herself. "Hey! Hey there, sweet boy…how about a story?" From her chambers in the dungeon, she found a stack of books that she liked to keep with her and pulled out an old favorite. "Her Handsome Hero!" she proclaimed. "My mother read this to me when I was small. Maybe…you'd like to hear it? It's about a brave man named Gideon, who risks everything to save a Princess and prove he is worthy even though he's not a Handsome Prince…"
Upstairs, she set the baby boy back into his basket, a makeshift cradle, and tucked him in as best she could. Then she read. Of course, she didn't start from the top. This book took her a day to read when she had nothing to do. This baby didn't have that long, but fortunately for her he also was too young to understand the story, and she was sure just wanted to hear her voice. So she went through, picking out favorite passages and reading them over. The moment that Gideon saved a lost sheep and ended up meeting Princess Tabitha. The first time someone told Gideon he was worthless and he proved them wrong by humbly outsmarting the village scholar. The time he set out on his quest to save the village because he refused to believe that he was only a shepherd boy. And of course, her favorite part, the moment the Gideon realized a true hero was not judged by the size of his strength but by the strength of his heart. "'The evil Sorcerer Yensid taunted poor Gideon with visions of his past, sheep in the field, scuffles with his fellow students, and all the times he'd been knocked down and called 'useless.' But Gideon was unafraid," she read softly getting to the good part. "He drew his sword and turned to face the evil Sorcerer, ready to save the people he loved…'"
From within the basket, the baby let out a little noise; perhaps it was a yawn. He did appear to be asleep, but she couldn't ignore the fact that he was turned toward her, and though his eyes were shut she had the idea that he was listening intently. "You really like this, don't you?" she smiled setting the book aside as he made more little noises. He was quiet. She'd waited hours for this. "So did I, when I was little. This is the first book that my mother ever read to me. I used to tell her that when I grew up, I was going to be a strong, brave hero, just like Gideon in the book. Maybe you could grow up to be like him someday. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
There was no response, the baby was clearly and peacefully asleep, leaving her alone to answer her own questions. Growing up to be a hero. What a wonderful thing that she'd wished for herself and now for this child as well. With parents to love him it wouldn't be a problem. What would be a problem was Rumpelstiltskin.
"Of course, you'll only get the chance to if we can figure out what Rumpelstiltskin is planning before the sun goes down and he takes you away, which…" she took a glance out the window, gauged her time. There wasn't much of it, but if they didn't act now, then when? "Now that I've calmed you down, maybe we can do that."
This was a difficult chapter to figure out. Logically there is just so much that doesn't make sense. As far as we know, as far as Belle knows, Rumple was going up to the lab to do his work and he took the scroll with him. Yet the next time we see Belle she sneaks up to the tower confident she can get a look, indicating that she knows he's not there anymore. But at the same time we know he's still in the castle because she wants to keep the baby quiet. Really, if Rumple has gone away somewhere the baby can scream until his eyes bleed. So I had to figure out a way to tell her it was safe to go up, but not safe enough that she couldn't be quiet or sneak around. This was what I came up with. I hope that you find it acceptable.
Thank you Fox24 for reviews on the last chapter! You are so sweet to read and give me your opinion! I really appreciate it, as always! Peace and Happy Reading!