If Maurice hadn't been happy that Belle had gone to live at Silver Sage, he was beyond livid that his daughter had agreed to marry Rumple.
"Belle you can have your choice of any man you want! You're well born. You're beautiful. Why would you marry him?" Maurice asked in dismay.
"You already said why," Belle answered gently. "I can have my choice. I choose him. I love him, Papa."
"Are you sure?" Maurice asked. "Mages can use their magic to make people think they love them."
"I wouldn't have Belle that way," Rumple told him, doing his best to hide his outrage at the idea. "This is entirely her choice. He knew Belle was close with her father, and for that reason he was being tolerant, but the idea of using magic to take away someone's free will was revolting, especially of someone he loved. He was disgusted that Maurice would even suggest he'd do such a thing.
"What do you have against mages, Dearie?" he continued. "You assume that just because I was born with something you can never have, that I would use that to hurt others?" He looked Maurice in the eye. "I suppose it's a bit like the power that comes with rank. You have the title of Sir. You lead Avonlea. I've known monarch and nobility who were cruel to their subjects. I was raised in a village ruled by a cruel duke. Should I judge you based on what he was like?"
"Well, no." Maurice was a bit taken aback by that line of thought.
"But you can judge me because I have power? What it comes down to, Dearie, is a choice. I choose to not use my power to harm others, unless I have no choice to protect the people I love." He paused. "I have control over my fate that almost no other person has. I was born for a purpose, but because of what my mother did, I can choose my own path. That path is not the path of a dark mage."
"Rumple saves people, Papa," Belle told Maurice. "It's who he was born to be."
Rumple looked at Belle, guessing who had told her that. He knew he hadn't been bragging himself up to her.
"Dale told me when I misunderstood about you making him young again," Belle confirmed.
"That's another thing," Maurice told her. "Do you have any idea how long he's already lived?"
"Since before the First Ogre War," she answered with a nod. "I know. And I know what marrying him will mean. There's nothing terrible about living with the man I love forever. "
"He's centuries older than you!"
"And in a few centuries, that won't matter will it?"
Maurice didn't know how to answer that.
"You wouldn't want me to take Belle's choice," Rumple reminded Maurice. "Then you have to accept her choice now."
Maurice opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to find a way to contradict that logic.
"You're sure you'll be happy with him?" Maurice asked.
"I already am," Belle told him. "I know I belong with him. If I had any doubt, I wouldn't have agreed to marry him."
There was nothing Maurice could say or do to change her mind, so wedding preparations were made. Besides their families, there were many friends to invite. One of those friends had her own love on her mind these days. Rumple guessed when Regina came for a visit one day. There was a happy glow about her that he'd never noticed before.
"I've never seen that look on you before," he commented. Regina smiled.
"I've met someone," she told him. King Leopold had passed away years before, but it had taken her a long time after she was free to keep her promise to Daniel. She had finally let herself fall in love again. "His name is Robin, and-" she closed her eyes a moment. "It's the first real happiness I've known since I lost Daniel. He makes me feel- " she didn't finish the thought, but Rumple understood. He couldn't have been happier for his former student.
Silver Sage had seen many generations of students through the years, some of which had taken positions as teachers themselves. They would be among the guests. There were also the Hatters, the Dragon, a good number of the Fae, Taliesin and Callum, the Darlings, and other friends Rumple had met through the centuries.
Rumple couldn't help thinking this wedding would be a much grander affair than his first. There were far more people, and the castle was a more elaborate setting than the village square had been. Of course, the ceremony itself would be different from the simple handfasting he'd had the day he'd married Milah. The details didn't matter to the happy couple, as long as they were getting married and the people they loved were there to share their day.
There were several priests and priestesses in the village. Rumple discussed them with Belle, as well as some she knew from Avonlea, but somehow none of them seemed right for their wedding. There were traveling priests and priestesses who passed through, and Rumple happened to meet one when he went to visit Jane one day. She was dressed in the traditional clothes of a priestess of Danu, and Rumple had a strange feeling when she walked past him.
"It's the season for weddings," she commented casually. "I suppose a priestess will be needed."
Rumple wasn't sure why, but he had the overwhelming feeling this was the perfect person to preside over his wedding to Belle. When he heard her voice, that sounded familiar somehow. He was sure he'd heard that voice in a time when he'd needed comfort. Yet he knew he'd never seen her face. He didn't even know her name.
"Actually, I'm getting married soon. My fiancé and I haven't quite decided on who will preside yet. The job is yours if you want it and my fiancé agrees." They set up a time to meet at the castle. As Moira, as the priestess called herself, walked away, Rumple was surer than ever he knew her from somewhere.
Belle had a feeling that Moira was perfect for their wedding as soon as she met her, so there were no problems with that. There were so many things to arrange besides that, but when their wedding day arrived, it was like a dream. When Rumple saw Belle coming towards him in her wedding dress, he thought his heart would burst. She wore a white gown that had been woven with golden threads he had spun and decorated with golden roses. Those blue eyes of hers shown with love for him, and her smile showed her joy at marrying him. Not even Maurice could deny this was true love.
They held each other's gaze as Moira spoke of love and what it meant for two people to share a life together. She spoke a blessing on them, and then asked them to address each other.
"Belle," Rumple began. "I've been in love with you since before I even knew your name or when we would meet. All I knew was that you would be an important person in my life. I thought then that you would make some man extremely happy. I just didn't know yet that man would be me. Then when that vision of the future came to pass and I met you in person, you were even more beautiful than what the vision showed me. Not just your face, but you. When I asked you to marry me, I told you I am now and for all the future yours. I've waited a long time for that future to begin, and I can't wait to start sharing it with you."
Belle took his hand, and smiled at him as she said "Rumple, I spent so long wanting to see the world. You showed me a world I'd only dreamed of. You showed me magic, and everyone knows True Love is the strongest magic there is. I'm so glad we have forever to share that, and I can't wait for all that waits for us now, and all we'll share together.
Rumple leaned in to kiss her, and when he pulled back, he felt something around his hand as it stayed holding Belle's. A ribbon of light was woven around both their hands, binding them together. It was a bond of the strongest possible magic. They'd exchanged their vows, and now they were bound together for eternity. This time Belle was the one to lean in for the kiss. Moira smiled and announced they were now man and wife as all their family and friends clapped for them. She walked closer to the happy couple and in a whisper only they could hear she spoke to them.
"Mòran beannachdan ort an dà chuid." It meant "Many blessings on you both." They both looked at her in shock. She'd spoken in Fae, a language few humans knew. Before they could react, their guests were gathered around them, congratulating them and complimenting what a lovely wedding it was. Moira was not seen in the village again, but Rumple had a feeling she was far more than a priestess.
He and Belle danced and celebrated with their loved ones long into the night. The next morning, they set out on their honeymoon. They would return to the school in a few weeks to help with the new school year, but for now they had time to start their life as a married couple just enjoying being together. Rumple showed Belle the many places he had been, and together they visited placed even he had yet to see. There were times spent in a whir of excitement taking part in what each place had to offer, and times just spent in each other's arms. It was a delightful thought to know time had no meaning for them. A future as endless as the roads they had to travel was all theirs.
