Chapter Twenty-Three: A Rose's Scent

Belle curled her long hair before an ornate vanity table mirror as Daphne lay, panting, at Belle's feet. Belle had tossed a bright pink squeaky bone for forty-five minutes after showering. Daphne had exhausted her puppy legs whereas Belle had sat there, lifting her finger here and there.

She glanced down at her wedding band and smiled broadly. Her marriage to Rumple was no longer "new" but…boy was she madly and irrevocably in love with the man.

There was no man who could make her feel dizzy like he does nor a man who could make her heart purr his name. Except Rumple.

When she didn't have fifty things on her mind—will she miscarry again? How long will it take to housetrain Daphne?, heehee Will is blind!—if she sits with Rumple long enough, threading her fingers through his, she smiles so hard that her face goes numb.

If she never knew him, she would have no inkling of how deep her love could run.

She finished her hair. Pulling the plug out of the outlet, she wrapped the cord around the appliance then returned the iron to its appropriate drawer. Then she opened another drawer and pulled out a lipstick. It was the suitable shade. A deep rose red.

She grabbed a pair of dangly earrings that ended with bloomed roses. From her neck, she hung a black cord with a bright red dagger charm. At the crown of her forehead, she placed a yellow-gold tiara adorned with rubies.

She swapped her robe for a lacy cobalt-colored dress. Around her feet, she strapped on midnight-blue heels.

Daphne watched with hope. Belle couldn't resist the puppy eyes. As she slipped a silver bangle around her left wrist, she announced, "You can come too."

Then she cast a spell to prevent the canine from wandering more than two feet from Belle. That way, Daphne would not drag Belle on a leash.

Pongo was unleashed, but he was hardly a two-month-old puppy.

As she left the house, a phoenix flew over her head, brightening half her face in a gold blaze. It deposited an egg at her feet before soaring off.

Belle squinted in the direction it flew off. Reaching down, she scooped up the quivering, pure-gold egg.

She had business to attend to. She did not have time to worry about eggs dropping into her possession.

Opening the door, she shoved the egg in the entry hall.

Strolling down the street, she caught Ruby sneezing into a basket of flowers.

Confused, Belle asked, "What are you doing? I thought flowers tampered with your sense of smell."

"Oh, they do! It's just, at the hotel, I overheard Prince Philip with Tiger Lily. I was off to break the news to Aurora."

Belle couldn't believe her ears. "Are you sure?"

"Positive! Want to come with?"

Belle glanced down the street. Daphne wagged her tail and barked, rising on her hind legs to hug Ruby. "Well, okay. But it's got to be quick."

Aurora's kids were running around like maniacs when they arrived at her house. Phoebe opened the door without asking who it was.

Ruby released a sneeze so hard that she began to hiccup. "These are—hic—for your—hic—mom."

"MUM!" Phoebe bellowed. Ruby jumped backward and rubbed the base of her throbbing eardrum. "A pretty woman, werewolf, and puppy dog are here to see you!"

"I guess—hic—we should've—hic—called first."

"We?" Belle whispered.

Ruby sniffled. "Damn. My nose went useless." A gush of snot dripped out. She opened the box of tissues she'd tucked in the basket for Aurora and pulled a tissue out.

The brunette arrived, her hair in its lovely waves, her body clothed in comfy-looking red-violet pajamas, and her feet bare except for some pink nail polish on her toenails. She looked fabulously casual. If Belle could look like anyone besides herself, she'd pick Aurora in a heartbeat. Her beauty was enviable, even for a girl who was quite assured her name was not ill-fitting.

Aurora ushered them in and led them to her bedroom.

"Phoebe is precious!" Belle proclaimed. "She looks just like you!"

"Mm. Yes." Aurora's light eyes glittered speculatively. Usually, Aurora beamed over the compliment and gushed about how she was certain her mother, Briar Rose, would feel like she was looking upon her daughter again. Normally, she would gush about all the people who had known Aurora at almost-three-years-old and said, "Dang, that girl looks like your mini-me." Privately, Aurora didn't think she could have possibly been anywhere near as cute as Phoebe when she was that age. But it still made her feel like a million bucks when people told her Phoebe looked just like her.

However, right now, she had a funny vibe stemming from Ruby and was unable to enjoy Belle's compliment.

Ruby handed her the basket. "I have some awful news," she declared. Then she plunged into the story.

"Prince Philip came to Granny's hotel. Alone. I was filing taxes behind the booth when he came. I saw him enter and ask for the Jacuzzi suite. I was only half-paying attention." She smiled widely, apologetically. "Assuming his guest was you, of course.

"But I never saw her. However, a couple of hours later, my wolf ears picked up on him calling his guest Tiger. He came downstairs thirty minutes after this to get a soda out of the machine. In his boxers. I was standing there, eating a fried pickle…pretending I had no idea what he was doing."

Aurora listened expressionlessly. When Ruby finished, she held out the box of tissues. Aurora ignored her.

"Ruby…did you ever think about not sticking your nose where it doesn't belong?"

Ruby tilted her head. "What? If my husband was cheating, I'd want to know! You and Mulan can be together now. You'd make such a cute couple!" The only person Mulan had ever told about her crush—and it was with a bunch of alcohol loosening her resolve and Ruby's prodding her, "Come on! You can tell me! I won't tell anyone, pinky swear!"—was Ruby. And she didn't even remember telling her. That was how much alcohol she'd ingested. Aurora had no idea how Mulan felt about her, and that was precisely how Mulan wanted it.

Aurora shook her head slowly. "Dear Ruby, you have…the best intentions, and I applaud you." She took a deep breath then turned her back on Ruby. She walked up to her vanity table and fingered her necklaces. "But you're wrong."

Between sneezes, Ruby gasped, "Excuse me?"

"Philip wasn't with Tiger Lily last night."

Putting her arms around Aurora, Ruby coaxed, "You're in denial."

"Do you remember when you saw Regina go in Archie's office and kill him?" Aurora groped with narrowed eyes. "And it wound up being Cora? And Archie wasn't really dead?"

Ruby threw her arms in the air. "No one knew she was in town! And who told you about that? You weren't here."

"Granny did. She babysits and loves to talk about you."

"Old gossip," grumbled Ruby.

"But then," Belle marveled as her curiosity got the best of her, "if Ruby is wrong, what really happened?"

Aurora gazed into her reflection. "She saw Philip and 'heard' him calling Tiger. Tiger is me. We had someone babysitting the kids because I'm losing my bloody mind. Yes, I love my kids. I love being a mum. But sometimes, I need some alone time with my man. To show off my female prowess. And the way I behaved made him address me as Tiger. I was truly a feline queen."

Ruby waved her hand to fan the air. "That's TMI for the canine in me. I hate feline queens."

Aurora gave her reflection a damp smile. "You would. Now, I realize Tiger Lily is quite catty. Bear in mind I know this. Philip is blind. He thinks she's just friendly. He doesn't give a hoot about her. But mark my words," Aurora uttered regally, turning to her audience with her hip cocked and eyes glowing as she stood to her full height. "If she makes a serious move on him—rather than just batting at him for amusement—I will know. Because, thanks to your husband," she nodded at Belle, "she's got a nasty surprise waiting for her if she does."

"And what might that be?"

Flexing her fingers, Aurora answered, "A nasty little curse." Tossing her hair, she murmured, "It will cause one of her arms to fall clean off while her lips sew themselves shut."

"Sounds creative," Belle enthused as Ruby frowned.

"Does this curse only work on Tiger or any woman hitting on your husband?"

"Harmless flirting, it won't launch, but it's like a bear trap. Anyone who tries to steal him will activate it. But I did implement it because of Tiger."

"I have to go," Belle concluded. "I'm supposed to meet Rumple by the Toll Bridge."

"Ah," Ruby sighed. "A true romantic getaway."

"When you have kids," Aurora groaned, "hotels are your best friend."

Belle and Daphne left them. Daphne breezed in her allotted radius, her eyes glowing and puppy mouth smiling. Her tail swished from side to side.

As she came close to Toll Bridge, Belle smelled the rich scent of freshly bloomed roses. There were red rose petals and baby's breath floating in the air at Belle's eye level.

When Daphne spotted Rumple, she unleashed a joyous bark. Belle was grinning so widely she felt like her face would fall off.

"They say make your own magic," Rumple uttered gruffly, "but I rather think it might be a tad more satisfactory to make some for my love."

"And what if she doesn't have the reaction you were aspiring for?"

"I rather think expectations are overrated."

Belle raced up to Rumple, threw her arms around his neck, and gazed into his familiar eyes.

"I love you," he enlightened honestly.

Genuinely, she stated, "I love you too," then slowly brought her mouth to his for one mind-numbing kiss.

She needed it. She was a woman who grew up overthinking to the max. Now she was attempting to learn to relax. To let herself go. To understand that she didn't have to be the smartest or strongest or kindest woman on the planet to be loved.

She could just be herself. Whatever that was. Rumple definitely loved her. As is.

She welcomed the mind-numbing sensation of his magical kiss.

A kiss that belonged to her alone.

Not even Tiger Lily would stoop so low as to try to steal him.

But if any woman decided to challenge her…

A wicked, Maleficent-worthy laugh overtook her throat.

Instead of seeming worried, Rumple beamed proudly and held her tighter against him.