The wait for market day to arrive felt like an eternity even though it was only a few days away. But this would be the first time Belle was allowed out and away from the castle in months and with Baelfire no less! Rumplestiltskin actually trusted her to do such a thing-well he said he did. For all she knew he would change his mind at the last moment and forbid her from going. However, she remained optimistic hoping that would not be the case.
To keep herself busy she spent the next two days getting to know her new library. She also introduced Baelfire to it who was very ecstatic about it. The boy loved books and Rumple must have thought of him too when he built it because there was also a very well stocked children's section among the shelves.
Belle mostly read to Bae from the books he chose, rather than reading ones on her own. She had tried to pick up a book here or there, but she could never concentrate on it or get deep into the story. She wasn't sure if it was just the anticipation of waiting to go to town or because she wasn't one to really read in the first place.
Finally the big day arrived and with all the encouragement from Rumplestilstkin, the wheel was turned to blue and Belle and Baelfire were soon out the door and walking out onto the streets of the seaside town of Avonlea.
Belle had given thought to the strange door before-she had been out it a few times. But this was the first time she had truly stepped outside of the castle when the wheel was set to something other than green, which led to the area the castle was physically in at any given moment. Well...there was that one time she had peeked into 'Mr. Gold's Pawnshop,' but she had never truly went in there and she hadn't seen Rumple visit there in months-since that first week she came to the castle actually. That was odd-did he not need to run his shop?
Nevertheless, that thought didn't hold her attention for long. She was too amazed by the magic of the castle. After stepping out through the door, her and Baelfire were both right in the middle of the town, where many people where hustling and bustling to get to wherever they needed to be. When she turned around to see what she had walked out of, there stood a door to a little shop with a sign which read 'Yin Sid's Potions' above it. It was a simple shop-not much too it, made of worn down brick with other shops on either side of it. The potion shop however, looked quite shaggy actually compared to the others-perhaps so that one might not draw too much attention to it.
And that was working if it was true, because everyone that walked by didn't pay it any mind-nor did they even glance at her or Bae.
Belle recalled Bae selling potions during her first day at the castle and she also remembered him wearing a disguise-the same one he was wearing now. Rumplestiltskin had insisted on it and even though the boy did not want to, his father did not take no for an answer. They weren't allowed to leave the castle without it.
Belle hadn't seen the disguise since that first time they met and she found herself having to glance over at him every once in a while. She didn't mean to stare but she couldn't help it. He was disguised as a full grown man! And it normally would not bother her as much, but she also remembered what Bae had told her about his father keeping him young. It was very odd indeed-because perhaps Bae would actually look like he did now if he was his true age.
After keeping him from growing up, why would his father choose a disguise like that? Why was he so terrified of letting Bae be himself? Or at least chose a different disguise. Was Rumple really that terrified about people knowing he had a son? There had to be more to this story and all Belle wished was to uncover it. Rumplestiltskin was so secretive…if she could just prove to him that she could be trusted maybe he would finally open up to her.
Perhaps this trip to town would be the first step in the right direction. She wasn't going to run away and she certainly wasn't going to let anything happen to Bae while they were out.
"I can't believe Papa is letting us go! I haven't been out in so long!" Bae said happily as they strolled along the streets of Avonlea.
Belle smiled over at the boy and agreed with him. This truly was a blessing and she hadn't felt this happy in a long time.
As they walked along the cobblestone road she admired everything and everyone. With no memories, she had never seen such a place and it truly held her attention. Even though it was quite the humble town and the architecture wasn't much to look at, she still marveled at all the buildings and people. PEOPLE. She hadn't seen another human being in so long-none besides Rumple and Bae. And she knew she was staring causing some women looked at her strangely before hurrying off, but she just couldn't help it. It felt like she had been transported into an entirely new world.
It was going to be difficult to go back. But as long as she knew she was free to come and go, going to the place she felt she could call home wouldn't be a problem.
The market stalls were set up along the seaside docks and Belle froze in place when the buildings seemed to part and she got a true view of the ocean. It was just absolutely gorgeous-and it seemed to go on for as far as the eye could see. The town itself was nestled in a little gulf, surrounded by somewhat tall, green, and lustrous mountains. There was a nice secluded feeling about it, but if one wanted to escape there was the open door to the world out on the ocean ready to take you anywhere your heart desire Perhaps one day she could go on an adventure, but that was probably more wishful thinking than she should be doing.
The vendors in the market had quite an abundant and variety of things to chose from. Belle had never had any complaints about the selection of food in the Dark Castle, but it was nice to have so much to choose from and to have the option to try new foods or buy what she liked.
Rumplestiltskin had given her a fair amount gold, allowing her to buy as much or whatever she pleased. He had even encouraged her to buy anything her heart desired-not just food. The offer warmed her heart, however she knew she could never spend his money so frivolously, even though he had more than enough to last several lifetimes. He spun straw into gold actually-he would never run out, but still she didn't feel comfortable being greedy like that.
If she saw something small, perhaps she would purchase it, but it would be more to benefit the seller than for her own personal wants. Of course she would purchase something for Baelfire if he were to see something he liked, but even the boy never showed much of an interest in materialistic things. His father was the collector…
"Pretty scarf for a pretty lady?" A man with dark hair and a short beard called to her as she walked by causing her to stop and look. "Or perhaps a nice bracelet to decorate your wrist."
The man was holding up the two items he spoke of and Belle couldn't stop herself from being drawn to the beautiful things. Pretty. That was not the word to describe her. She knew it was just a selling tactic the man was using. He would call anyone pretty if it meant making a sale. Yet another reason not to bother spending Rumplestiltskin's money on herself. Someone else would be more deserving.
Still she couldn't stop herself from reaching out to touch the blue scarf-it looked so soft and comfortable and it certainly felt even better.
"It matches your eyes," the man added.
Her eyes-those ugly foreign blue eyes-the ones she always looked into and saw nothing-no one-a nobody. She hated the reminder and had to take a deep breath before she could manage to look up at the seller and force a smile. "It's very lovely, but no, thank you. It would be more befitting of another woman."
And with that she walked off, leaving the seller to shrug his shoulders and move on to another passerby. She felt horrible for leading him on like that-but she just couldn't bare to think about the things that made her depressed, like her eyes or the fact that she was not pretty. And she didn't want this day ruined by horrible thoughts.
Instead, she found the vendors who sold fresh vegetables and fruits and other good-looking food. She started at the vegetable stand, picking out a few and filling her sack.
"I hate potatoes!" Bae whined-something very unfitting of the older man that he was sporting around and supposedly pretending to be.
Belle shot him a glance, but continued choosing some good-looking potatoes before moving on to the green vegetables.
"Green beans? I don't like those either!" Bae continued.
The whining didn't faze Belle though and she picked up a handful of green beans anyway not giving Bae so much as a glance. "You can choose some vegetables you like, but it's good to try new things. I'm sure your father would agree."
Bae pouted just a little bit, but he was agreeable to the idea since she was allowing him to choose food he enjoyed as well.
"Hey," she said softly to Bae after she paid the vendor and walked off. "Perhaps we can find a stall which is selling treats…" She nudged him playfully in the side. "Maybe some fresh pies or chocolate…"
Bae's eyes lit up then. "Chocolate! I love chocolate!"
Belle chuckled. "Well then, let's go see if we can find some."
Bae nodded eagerly and the two happily continued on, looking at all the stalls to see if they could find chocolate. As they looked, Bae admired many things, but Belle showed no true interest-not feeling as if she had anything she truly liked. She didn't care to think about it either, because again it brought on those feelings of despair for not being able to remember who she truly was or what she adored.
"There's some Belle!" Bae called out excitedly as he ran ahead of her.
"Great," Belle said with a nod and handed over the coin to pay for an amount large enough to treat both him and her. "Should we get some for your father?"
Bae shrugged his shoulders. "He doesn't really like chocolate," he said as he took a big bite of the sweet treat.
"Oh." For some reason that disappointed Belle. It wasn't because Rumple didn't like chocolate, but because it just reminded her that she didn't know very much about a man that she was beginning to develop feelings for. She did know that he was a kind man, and she supposed that mattered more than most things, but that man was slowly fading away because of the curse.
"Hey!" Belle scolded as she saw Bae take another large bite of the candy. She just shook her head. "You should save some for later...plus you'll ruin your dinner."
Bae looked at Belle with his cheeks stuffed with chocolate and he tried to talk to her with his mouth still full. Nothing came out except a jumbled sentence that even Belle couldn't make out. Belle did, however, have to resist the urge to burst out laughing. Bae still looked like a grown man even though she knew he was a child, but a grown man acting like a little boy was the funniest sight.
"Well you've already taken the bite, at least chew it up and swallow it before you try to speak," Belle said, rolling her eyes.
Bae obeyed partially by not chewing but swallowing the chunk whole and almost choking on it. "I said..."
"HEY! LOOK OVER THERE!"
A voice from the crowd interrupted Bae and caused both him and Belle to look out toward the waters where others were pointing. Out on the distance, there was a ship. Normally that would be no big deal since Avonlea was a small boating village and ships of all shapes and sizes made port there. But as Belle squinted her eyes to get a better look and as the ship drew closer, she noticed there was something off about the ship.
For one it was a war ship, but that wasn't what made the sick feeling surface deep in her stomach. No, not only was this a war ship, but also it was a ship that had seen battle and seen battle recently. It was practically in pieces, with holes in the sides, and smoke coming out of one end. The fact that it was still floating was miraculous. It was safe to assume that somehow the people on that boat had escaped with their lives and Belle had a very bad feeling about the fact that it had come there to Avonlea.
It was a state of the art battleship and she knew there was only one thing that could have destroyed it: ogres.
People began to flock to the docks and the water's edge to get a look at the ship as it drew closer. All around them the vendors began to abandon their shops so that they could join in too.
"Come on Belle, let's go get a better look," Bae suggested as he grabbed her hand to drag her through the crowd.
But Belle put up resistance and tugged him back toward her. "No I don't think it's a good idea. We should get back to the castle."
"I've never seen a battleship so close though!" he begged, trying to convince her.
Belle shook her head and continued to tug on his arm toward the opposite direction. "No, Bae. I have a bad feeling about this." Not to mention she was scared. Very very scared. She didn't want to tell that to the boy though.
Bae was about to continue pleading with her when suddenly there was a loud explosion off in the distance across the top of the mountains. In that moment everyone went quiet and all things seemed to freeze even the birds in the sky. It was eerily quiet and so very still for what seemed like eternity until a loud roar disrupted everything...and then another roar...and another. Then there was a woman's scream from the front of the crowd and then another. And then as if in one swift motion the entire crowd of people began to move in a wave, screaming and crying out to their loved ones to run away, dropping things and trying to flee back from the waters, clawing and trying to climb over things and one another as everything became chaos.
And Belle didn't have too long to wonder what was going on as there was no mistaking the loud warnings of the townspeople as they hollered to others, nor was there mistaking the giant, bald, and disgusting dirty creatures that held huge battle axes and clubs in there hands as they came into view across the gulf's edge: Ogres were attacking Avonlea.