Once upon a time,
It was a humble beginning for any tale, but Belle never thought it'd be the beginning of one of hers. Fairy tales were for princesses, or people who went through great trials and tribulations. Her life was simple, provincial. But she had never been swept up in her own life before. In books and stories of other people's loves, other people's adventures, other people - that was easy to get lost in. But now her head was in the clouds, but she was still thinking about herself.
But as she was thinking of her fairy tale, she also thought of other's - Rapunzel's, and her sisters', to be specific. Belle had endured years of simplicity to be whisked away into a world of another book lover, and a house that in time would become a castle. The story was just beginning, but she came into it so easily - only by opening her heart.
The princesses, on the other hand, were not so lucky. Belle knew Rapunzel well, as they had both spent so much time in the castle, and Rapunzel had opened up to her several times. Their curses were complex, and only Aurora's offered the opportunity for a happy ending. Belle figured that was because not inviting Maleficent to Aurora's christening was only the first slight. Once Philip kissed Aurora on her 18th birthday, the curse would be lifted from here. Rapunzel would forever be her sisters' keeper. Ariel could never have someone proclaim their love for her. They all deserved happy endings too, and Belle wondered if there was a fairy tale that would give them that.
Belle wrapped her shawl around her shoulders, getting ready to head out to Adam's house, in order to help him start fixing it up. Surely Adam knew of many fairy tales she hadn't heard of.
Belle was a librarian, it was her greatest skill and joy to know things, to believe in things, to immerse herself in thousands of worlds. There had to be a world where everyone got a happy ending. She just didn't know if she'd be able to write it.
...
Rapunzel bit her nails, a habit she hadn't indulged in since she was a child, but she was exceptionally nervous, and not even 100% sure why. Though everything had gotten so close to going awry last night, it had worked out. Ariel was healed; back on her two legs and surely back to her reckless ways.
But so much more had happened than just a slip-up last night. It's not as if she was milling about the gardens, or in a secret nook of the library where she could be lost only for minutes, not for hours. She was off at the lantern festival, exploring town freely. And she was with someone. Flynn had found a way to appear in her life when she most craved something new, something exciting. When she milled about the ball, hoping for some pomp in her own life, he came in and out through the window like a ghost. When she wanted to see the lanterns, he took her.
She barely knew him, but she wanted him to come back, to whisk her off somewhere new. How could she miss someone so new to her so badly?
Rapunzel had had plenty of free time, and she spent a fair chunk of it reading. How many tales had she read of princesses holed up in towers or cottages, waiting for the day where their life could begin? How often was it jump started by a strange occurrence, or the arrival of a stranger? Someone who entered your life with such force that purpose had to lie beneath it. Maybe that's what Flynn was for her. She had never been dismissive of fairy tales, so to say, but maybe there was more truth to them than she thought.
Rapunzel sighed and sat down on her chair, grabbing a book of fairy tales. There had to be a way to press forward, she could not venture outside the castle like that and be expected to return as the same person. But the concept of this was far easier than the execution. Could she really so selfishly risk their lives like that again?
Was her thirst for adventure reason enough for that much danger?
...
The hardest part of the task was done - Adam and Belle had cleared away all the rubble and loose pieces of the house, and toted them off down the hill. They'd figure out a use for them later. Now, things had to be repaired. Belle was smaller (and braver) so she got up on the roof as Adam send up shingles with a little basket-pulley they rigged. She hammered them in, and the gaping hole in the roof slowly closed.
They finished that part of the project by lunch, and sat down for a picnic. Adam had gone to the bakery and the grocer that morning to get fruit, cheese, and bread for them. Belle tore off part of the bread and handed it to Adam, then served herself.
"Thank you so much." Adam said.
Adam never thought this could happen to him. Sure, he was young, and it wasn't as though he thought his life was over, but he had certainly thought it had plateaued. After his house was damaged and life thrown into stress and chaos, he thought he'd spend the rest of his life or, at least, the foreseeable part of it, trying to bring his life back to normal.
When Belle walked into his shop that day, he saw her only as a disruption of his progress. Here was another person to deal with, pulling books out of shelves - the only thing he had organized, the only order he had in his life! - and rummaging through his few things like they were hers, and like it wasn't a big deal.
Adam didn't know if there was some higher force that brought her there, but as he saw her leaning back, looking up at the clouds, his further repaired house standing up tall behind them, he was inclined to think that there was. What did a man like he do to deserve such beauty anyway? Beauty not just in her face, but in her mind and her manner. There were many clever girls in town, and smart ones, and kind ones, but there were none with which he clicked with. She was easy to talk to, and easier to listen to.
Perhaps he had miscast himself in the story of his life. He thought he'd be a recluse, a shopkeeper, someone whose job was to wait in the shadows and watch others live their great adventures. Help when he could, but never get that thrill for himself. But he saw now that there were many ways to be a hero, and whatever he could be, and could be for Belle, he would become.
"It's so kind of you to help me fix this all up, really."
"Oh, it's nothing!" Belle said kindly, rolling to her hip and grabbing another piece of bread.
"Really, I can't thank you enough. And on your day off, too!"
"I want to be here." Belle smiled, and Adam felt his heart swell. "I think this place could be a real castle once we get it fixed up."
Adam chucked. "I think it's a bit too small and plain for that."
Belle rolled her eyes. "You make fun of it too easily." she looked back at the house. "I think it has a lot of potential, with a little care and attention."
"Belle," Adam took her hand, wondering if this was too fast, or too soon, but it felt right and dammit, he was going to do what was brave.
"Yes, Adam?" she said, her voice soft.
"Belle, I love you."
…
There were two little raps on her door, and Ariel looked up.
"Come in!" she called.
"Hey!" Eric cracked the door, and leaned on the frame. "How are you doing?"
Ariel didn't know why she was relieved to see him, there was no clear reason behind the emotion. But she was, and she stood up from her spot on the floor and skip-walked over to throw her arms around his neck. "Hi!" she exclaimed happily, stepping back. "I'm fine! That's the one perk of Rapunzel being able to heal us - we heal completely, as soon as the song is done."
"Good." Eric breathed. "I was really worried there."
Ariel also wasn't quite sure why she felt slightly happy to hear that he was worried about her. After all, why would she want him to worry? She didn't actually want him to feel upset - not ever!
"I was a little, too." Ariel said honestly. "But it worked out!" she added chipperly.
"I just...I just want you to promise me you'll be a little more careful." Eric said. "I don't want something to happen to you, okay?"
Ariel took his hands, and truly noticed for the first time how completely they wrapped around hers. She had noticed how handsome he was before, of course, she wasn't blind, but having him hold her hands so gently made her heart drop into her stomach. They weren't friends anymore.
Not thinking, she threw her arms around him again, pressing herself up against him to see if that felt safe too. He wrapped his arms around her waist and let her dip her head into his neck. It wasn't the first time she had thought about kissing him, but this was the first time she realized how serious it was.
After all, he was betrothed to her sister.
...
Flynn coughed once as he stirred back to consciousness. It took him a second to adjust to his surroundings - where was he? There were trees all around him, and the sun up above, peeking through the leaves.
The night came back to him in flashes, out of order. Holding Rapunzel's hand, helping her into the boat. Squeezing it once, and having her look back at him, as if it meant something. The sway of the boat as she leapt to the side in order to get closer to a lantern. Spotting the Stabbington Brothers over her shoulder as he leaned in, filled with the sudden audacity to try and kiss her. Paddling up to them, feeling like a damn idiot but knowing that if he didn't face them they'd go straight for Rapunzel. He knew they didn't really want him. The crack of the first punch. The shallow dud of the last one, before he passed out.
Flynn looked down. Bruises were already flowering on his exposed skin, and he didn't even want to know what was over the rest of his body. He reached his hand up to touch his throbbing lip, finding that blood had crusted over it. He touched his lip with his fingers, only to find that his fingers were still bleeding freely.
Swearing under his breath, Flynn went to rummage in his pockets for a handkerchief or anything to mop the blood up off of himself. He needed to get up and out of here - to make sure that Rapunzel was okay, and to get out of here before Stabbington Brothers came back for seconds.
He pulled the flower that had fallen from Rapunzel's hair, and with only a flash of gold, his hand stopped bleeding and the wound closed.
"Whoa," Flynn muttered, dropping the flower onto his chest, where a bruise seemed to evaporate. He touched the flower to his arm, his leg, his lip, and one by one the wounds closed. He sat up slowly, almost not wanting to believe what happened. Of course Rapunzel had mentioned her magic healing hair - but wasn't that supposed to heal her sisters? Was there some sort of leftover power for him? Was she really not kidding about all that?
But as he rose, his bones did not ache, he didn't grit his teeth, and his muscles didn't strain. It was almost as if nothing happened. Excited and full of energy, Flynn tucked the flower back into his pocket and took off in a healthy sprint towards the castle.
...
Philip rode his horse out into the middle of the forest and stopped when he felt like he was no longer running to something, but from something. In the clearing, he let his shoulders slump and exhaled shakily. How had he let himself get in this deep?
Many times he had let himself imagine what it would be like if he wasn't Eric's right hand man and best friend. If the marriage hadn't been arranged for so long. If they weren't so close to the wedding.
The intros were different each time he dreamed it, depending on his mood. He would run into her in town, offering to help her with a heavy armload of packages. He would find her in the garden, running the tips of her fingers over roses. He was the one engaged to her, and their eyes would meet for the first time upon disembarkment.
But there was one dream he returned to so comfortably.
Philip cleared his throat nervously, and rapped on her bedroom door.
"Come in!" her voice was light and friendly. He wondered if she somehow knew he was on the other side.
"Aurora?" he said, as if it could possibly be a question.
"Oh, Philip!" Aurora stood up from her vanity table. "I wasn't expecting you."
"We didn't have plans." Philip assured her. "I just needed to talk to you."
"Is everything okay?"
"It can be. Aurora, I know this is not my place, and I'll leave as soon as you bid me to, but I need you to know something."
"What is it?" she asked, stepping closer to him.
"I love you. I'm absolutely in love with you."
She touched the tips of her fingers to her lips. "Do you really mean it?"
"Absolutely," Philip closed the space between them and took her hands, placing them over his heart. "Please, if you feel anything for me-"
"Yes." she said, almost breathlessly.
He wanted to kiss her, of course he did, but still holding her hands to his heart, he muttered. "Love's first kiss. I can wait. I will wake you up. I'll marry you now. Whenever, wherever you want. Whatever you want."
She threw her arms around his shoulder, and they embraced again.
Philip shook himself out of his reverie. These were fine for dreams, and filled his day. But what could be done? Aurora needed to be awoken from the spell by her husband, and how could he throw two countries and a promised match into chaos just for the slight chance that she might like him back?
If he really believed she loved him, then he would do it. He could face the consequences if he could be given assurance that she saw him as more than a right-hand man. But, then again, where was the bravery in that?
…
She hadn't said it back, and Belle wondered now if that was the right choice, as she swore under her breath and kicked herself. It's not as if she didn't feel it, it was just the sensation of loving someone like that and being loved like that, was so new to her that it felt almost like she was lying by admitting to herself that that's what she felt. It was too new; it was so much.
It was hard already to grapple with the idea that she had the capacity for these sort of fairy-tale thing swithin her life and outside of books, but the idea that she could have a love with this much warmth, and even deeper potential, was overwhelming.
She had smiled, and kissed him, but he still seemed reasonably disappointed. She had made up an excuse about plans to visit a friend in town and had left shortly thereafter. But Belle sighed and steadied herself. She would tell him. She wouldn't be afraid to let good things happen to her.
Next time she saw him.
…
Flynn paused outside the clearing to the castle, hesitating for only a moment. What was he doing here, really? Yes, of course, he was coming to make sure Rapunzel was okay, but he had no intentions of stopping after that. He knew this, even if he preferred to not admit it to himself.
He had lived his whole life as a thief, as soon as he was able to leave the orphanage at the tender age of twelve. At first people tended to excuse his poor thieving skills and look the other way because he was young and clearly hungry, but noon he grew more talented and needed no sympathy to get by. There was no other life he knew, because there was no other life he sought.
And now, look at him. He had the audacity to demand and seek a lot of things, but now he was trying to force himself into a princess' life - and for what? Because he thought she was pretty? Because he liked her? He had seen plenty of pretty girls in his lifetime, why would she possibly be any different?
Or, the more uncomfortable question, why was he so concerned? Never had he hesitated before talking to a girl, or doubted if he was good enough for her. Rapunzel was royal, yes, but Flynn didn't see why that would normally stop him. If he had ever had a chance to hit on any other princess, he doubted he would've hesitated.
So Flynn took stead in the fact that, for once, his intentions were good, and continued towards the castle, hoping that that would shine through.
…
Of course Aurora knew it was coming. Eric had to propose - that's why he was sent over here, after all! And she needed him, to love her and kiss her awake and break her curse forever. She was so tired of this curse, she would've done far worse things to rid herself of it anyway. Eric was handsome, and kind, and he agreed to marry her. There were women with far worse lots in life.
But Eric was not the man her thoughts drifted to when she was pensive, or the face she sketched in her journal. Perhaps it would not be so bad if there was no face there, if she was a blank slate with no strong inclination towards anyone. Yes, she figured if that were the case she could open her heart to Eric, in time.
However, her heart was already taken, by a handsome man who was sweet and kind and brave, who genuinely seemed to care about her. Aurora knew that she wasn't as loud and vibrant as her sisters, especially Ariel, but that didn't mean she didn't want to be noticed! Especially by someone who was supposed to be her spouse!
Philip saw her, really truly saw her, because he looked for her. He thought of her for the lantern festival, and how he could sneak her in because she wanted one day to be free of being a princess. He wanted to get to know her land, and he wanted to show her his favorite places. If Aurora could do over this entire engagement process, she would choose Philip. But Eric was her betrothed, and Philip surely saw her as only his prince's future fiancee. There was no way she could breach that gap.
And even if it were possible - and Aurora had long-entertained the idea that maybe it was - the curse was going to come true in only a matter of days. Her 18th birthday was fast approaching. It was too late for her and Philip, if such a world ever existed.
She wanted something, anything from him. Soon Eric had to propose and they'd be quickly married. Something had to be possible for her and Philip, though Aurora wasn't sure what. Maybe she was just dreaming too much again.
...
Rapunzel still always mistook him for some sort of ghost, appearing outside her window. She wanted him here, and she was glad he had returned, but she still wasn't sure what to make of him, overall.
"Hey, Blondie." he smiled, folding his arms on her windowsill.
"Flynn!" she said excitedly, holding out her hands. "Come in, come in."
He hesitated for another second, but pulled himself up into her room.
"I had so much fun at the festival, it was really amazing!" Rapunzel gushed.
"Really?" Flynn said, almost embarrassed at himself for how giddy he felt, just by her simply mentioning that she had a good time.
"Really!"
"Well there's all sorts of things in town - all the time! If you want to go back I think you'd really like the-"
"I can't." Rapunzel said firmly.
"Huh?"
"I can't go back into town. Not without all my sisters, and Aurora is going to be married soon and will be crowned soon as well, and Ariel is so hard to pin down-"
"Why can't you go back?"
"Remember how I told you my hair has healing properties?" Rapunzel smiled bitterly. "She took this from us, you know. Maleficent, who gave us our curses. She absolutely manipulated all our love, for all three of us. Aurora is dead to the world without it, Ariel has to kill it herself, and my love for my sisters is the only thing keeping them alive." she sighed and looked away. "I am the only, only way my sisters can heal if they're hurt. Not the best way. Not the quickest way. The only way." she dipped her head. "And, don't get me wrong, I'm glad I can help them! Their recovery times are fantastic. But the cost that could come if I'm away, even for a moment-"
"A moment? Rapunzel, what if it was just an afternoon, a -"
"No! I told you I can't go back, don't you get it. We were gone for an evening - not even, really! And Ariel got hurt. She just kept bleeding and bleeding and her blood wouldn't clot, and if we had stayed on the water for even another fifteen minutes I-" Rapunzel shuttered and cut herself off, dipping her head and letting her hair fall around her face.
"That was a freak accident and-"
"No, it was a totally normal accident." Rapunzel corrected him. "She slipped, and got a cut on her leg. What if one of them were to fall down the stairs? Cut themselves opening a knife? We can get hurt anytime, any day, but you don't have to think about it because when you scrape your leg you bandage it and it's fine in a week!"
Flynn felt himself getting frustrated. "So, what're you going to do? Never leave the castle again?"
Rapunzel folded her hands. "I've left before the festival. Sometimes we meet people on holidays. There's public dedications, and the like."
"So you're going to wait for royal events?"
"Yes! With escorts and safety protocols and my sisters-"
"Rapunzel, that sounds terrible."
She did not answer that.
"What're you even going to do, sitting up in here all day?"
"It's not awful." Rapunzel said half-heartedly. "I have my books, and my paints, and the whole castle."
"Haven't you done it all at this point?"
"There's always more to do. I started a new storybook just a few days ago!" Rapunzel pulled her knees to her chest. "I know I can't make you understand Flynn-"
"Eugene."
"Huh?"
"My real name is Eugene Fitzherbert." He said this in a sudden gush of honesty.
"Then why do you go by Flynn?"
"There weren't very many books available at the orphanage, so once you found one, you hung on to it tight. I must've read The Tales of Flynnigan Rider a thousand times, but it made me feel safe, and it made me feel brave. Brave enough to do anything. Brave enough to leave. The orphanage wasn't a terrible or abusive place, but it was very poor, and had very little room. I didn't know if I, Eugene Fitzherbert, would be okay if I left and struck it out on my own. But I knew Flynn Rider would be."
"Have you been okay?" Rapunzel asked softly.
"As well as anyone could expect, I suppose." Flynn smiled. "But I'm not telling you this for pity. Find someone - something - in this castle that lets you be brave enough to let you leave. Your life isn't in here Rapunzel, it can't be, there has to be a way."
"Flynn - Eugene? -"
"Flynn."
"Flynn...I can't do this. Not now. Please." Rapunzel said, shaking her head. "You have to go."
"But-"
"I can't leave, it's too risky!" Rapunzel said, tears springing up more quickly than she had hoped. "Please just go." she stood up.
Flynn rose up as well. "Rapunzel, please just think about-"
"I don't know Flynn, I just...please go." she pushed him back towards the window.
"Rapunzel-"
"Go!"
Flynn reached into his pocket and pulled out the flower, slightly crumpled, but still glowing. "This fell from your hair, and it healed me too." he said. "Your hair does a lot of good, but it's not worth it if it doesn't help you too. Please, just think about what I've said."
Rapunzel nodded a little. "I will. I don't want to be here forever." she admitted. "But I just don't see another way."
Flynn climbed back out the window, resting with one leg in, one leg out. He took Rapunzel's hand and gently tugged her a little closer, lightly kissing her forehead. "I know you're brave. I hope you can find a way."
...
Eric knew this was his last chance; his only chance. He had to talk to Ariel, and see if there was any hope for this, for them. He smiled, seeing her by the sea, throwing rocks (was she trying to skip them? Or was she mad?). Of course she was there. He found her because he went where he would go.
"Ariel!" he called out and she turned, smiling in a way that seemed to indicate that she wasn't even surprised that he was here.
"Eric!" she waved, and dropped the rest of the small rocks she was holding.
"Ariel, I have to talk to you." Eric put his hands on her waist, smiling a bit as she so naturally wrapped her arms around him.
"What is it?"
"I know this is bad timing, but I don't think there's any possible good timing, so I'll just take what i can get." Eric laughed, a little nervous.
"What is it?" Ariel sounded nervous now, and Eric wondered if she knew what was coming.
He took his hands off her waist to run his fingers through her hair - he had always wondered how it felt. She made no move to stop him and rolled her cheek into his open palm. Eric leaned in slowly, still holding her face, and kissed her. As soon as she kissed him back, he had everything he wanted.
He didn't want to end this, he didn't want to marry Aurora, and he didn't want to be king. He had to talk to her, but could he really blame himself for taking an extra moment more?
…
Ariel broke the kiss suddenly, looking up and around nervously, as if they were caught misbehaving. It was hard to remember that they were.
"Eric-" she said quickly.
"Ariel, just let me get this out-" Eric interjected, wrapping up her hands in both of his.
This was bad. This was very, very bad. She loved him; she knew that, she felt that. But there were no consequences for her loving him from afar. The curse only kicked in if he loved her too, and she had to shut him up.
"No!" Ariel said, with more force than she wanted. She didn't want to refuse him at all! There was a part of her, hard to ignore, that wanted confirmation; that wanted to hear that he genuinely felt for her. But of course this couldn't happen - the cost was too great.
"Ariel, please, I know this is bad timing. I know I'm supposed to propose to your sister today. I know it's three days from her birthday, I know this wrecks everything and-"
"Please stop, just go back inside, we can pretend this never happened-"
"Can you really?" Eric stopped, holding her hands still. "Do you honestly feel nothing for me?"
"Of course I do-" Ariel said, unwilling to deny herself at least the chance to admit the truth, even if it could never be acted on.
"Because I've wanted you for so long. And the more time I spent with you, the deeper those feelings got. I came here with every intention of marrying your sister, but how am I supposed to live out my life with her, with you in the same castle? With you in my life?"
"I don't know, but you're going to have to find a way!" Ariel insisted. "You have to marry her!"
"We'll find another way out of her curse, any way! If it's just her husband, can't she marry someone else? Someone better than me? Doesn't she deserve someone who wants her, not someone who's spent nearly his entire time here pining after her sister?" Eric said, taking her face back in his hands. "I know you're the woman I want."
"Eric, please, you don't know what's at stake here. You only know of Aurora's curse-"
"We'll find another way. I'll do anything to find another way!" Eric insisted, swooping down to kiss her again.
Ariel kissed him back hard, looping her arms around his neck. She knew after this she could never speak to him again, not in the way she had. She could let him develop any stronger feelings for him. And she hated it, she hated it! But the idea of having to lose him forever was so much harder to bear than the idea of always just being outside his reach.
Eric broke the kiss before she was ready, eyes shining. "Ariel, I love you."
"No!" Ariel yelled, pushing him back. "You can't mean that! Take it back!"
"I mean it, Ariel. I'm completely in love with you." Eric swore, laying a hand on his heart. "There's no one I spend more time thinking about. There's no one I'd rather be with. I'm completely and utterly in love with you."
Ariel burst into tears. The clock was ticking. Now, she had three days.
"Do-do you not feel the same way?" Eric asked, the hurt seeping through his voice.
She wasn't going to tell him. There was time, precious little, but there was time. She wouldn't reveal everything until she knew for sure that it was too late. But still, she couldn't encourage this.
"Take it back!" she demanded. "Say you don't mean it!"
"But I do!" Eric said, hurt.
"You can't!"
"Why not? Ariel, if you don't feel that way, I'm sorry-"
"I don't!" she lied. "Just take it back, say you don't mean it."
Eric face fell and he took another step back from her. "Okay, if that's what you want. I take it back."
"Say you don't love me."
He shook his head a little, but said "I don't love you."
Ariel put her hands over her face. "Go, please just go."
"I-"
"Go!" she yelled, and Eric walked back towards the castle, head bowed forward.
Shaking, Ariel sunk back down onto the beach. Three days - three days!
…
Eric took a deep breath to steady himself. It was almost funny how nervous he felt, when he already knew the answer Aurora would give him. The wedding had already basically been planned, from when the engagement was pre-agreed to. All that was left to do was to call in people to set everything up, and have the most important nobility present.
Even the engagement had been set up for him. The ring had been chosen. It was a family heirloom, resting in his pocket. The engagement was going to be in the ballroom, done up in flowers and drenched in natural light. Eric stood in the middle of the room, feeling sick to his stomach. He wondered how Aurora was feeling, and lamented for the second time today how much easier his life would be if he could read these princesses' minds.
This had to happen. This was why he was here. And what was the point of trying to put it off anymore, if Ariel really didn't feel anything for him? He had to marry someone, just due to the nature of being a princess. Aurora seemed very sweet and kind, and she was certainly lovely, so why not?
He sighed. He had hoped to be a little more optimistic when it was time for him to propose to his wife, but this was the hand he was dealt.
Aurora stepped into the room, and the two were faced with each other alone, for the first time in a long time. Eric smiled at her. This was what she had been waiting for, he shouldn't ruin it by being sour. She walked to his slowly, holding her hands in front of her.
"Prince Eric." she said, smiling and nodding.
"Princess Aurora." he nodded back, and stooped down to one knee. "I promise to love you, from our wedding day and forever forward. Will you marry me?"
Aurora smiled softly. "Yes, I will." she held out her left hand, and Eric put the ring on it, rising up.
He squeezed her hand and let go, feeling very strange whenever he touched her at all. She made no moves to be in contact with him at all.
And just like that, gears spun forward. A wedding was on. In three days, nearly two now, Aurora would turn eighteen. The ceremony would be on her birthday, near noon. These were easy choices to make, because they were not choices at all.
...
"The wedding is on!" Mrs. Potts said excitedly, as blind as most when it came to the nature of all that had transpired since Prince Eric's ship arrived.
"Oh?" Belle said, wrapping her scarf around her head.
"Yes, you goose. People have been working from the second he proposed last night. They're going to be married early afternoon - in two days!"
"Two days?" Belle said, still unsure of quite what was going on.
"Yes, yes! Come now-"
"Oh, I was just heading to Adam's to get more books-" Belle gestured.
"Oh no you aren't!" Mrs. Potts laughed a little. "Two days, sweetheart! We knew it was coming since he arrived, of course, and the castle has prepared as much as we can, but even for a small wedding there is a large amount of work to be done! Queen Leah won't need books for a few days regardless, you can resume your normal duties after the wedding."
"Okay, just let me send word-"
"Whatever for, dear? He certainly isn't your supervisor! Now come, come! Get that scarf off, there is so much to do!"
"Please-"
"Belle, we need you here."
Mrs. Potts had never spoken to her with any sternness before, so Belle dropped the subject. Hopefully Adam would understand.
…
Adam drummed his fingers on the counter. Two people had come in today, and he was crossing his fingers for third time being the charm. It was already getting later in the afternoon. Belle always came in the morning, every morning. Usually not later than nine, certainly never later than ten.
He thought of a million reasons why she wouldn't come. Maybe she had a cold. Maybe Queen Leah didn't need any more books. Maybe another, less expensive book shop had just opened up the other day. But none of them seemed realistic. Belle had been perfectly healthy the other day, and it wasn't cold season. She had come every day to get books so Queen Leah had many options, not because Queen Leah was actually able to read multiple books a day, every day. Shops seldom opened in town, and they certainly took more than a day to pop up.
More importantly, every excuse he came up with was shadowed with his bumbling at the picnic. He had told her that he loved her, and while she did not run away or react negatively, she didn't say it back. She hardly said anything.
Maybe he had made a terrible mistake by confessing his feeling so soon. Of course he was a fool to think that she would interested in him too. He didn't know how he had managed to misread so many signals and concoct this romance up in his head, but that must be what happened.
Adam slumped his shoulders as he heard the four tings on the clock. The day was almost over, and she still hadn't come. He hoped he hadn't made her job terrible, were she to ever have to come back here. He would keep his distance, were she ever to come back.
He closed the shop early that day, opting to go back into his office, rather than go work on the house they had nearly fixed together. He had a lot of work to do, in learning how to let her go.
...
"Raps?"
Rapunzel looked up from her journal. "Come in!"
The door was pushed open by Belle, who looked weary from her day. "Can we just talk for a little bit? Are you busy?"
"Of course not!" Rapunzel smiled. She always had time for a friend. "Is something wrong?"
"No? Yes? Not really? Nothing bad has happened, but I'm being stupid." Belle laughed, sinking down onto Rapunzel's bed.
"What's going on?"
"There's this boy…" Belle began, smiling a little at the childish framing of it all.
"Oooh!" Rapunzel smiled happily, leaning in.
"It's Adam Beaumont, owner of the bookstore downtown. I think I love him."
Rapunzel smiled. "Have you told him? Does he feel the same way?"
"I haven't told him." Belle said. "But he's told me."
"Oh?"
"I don't know why I got hit by all these insecurities in that moment, but I did. It should've just been a happy moment, but I was just panicked about whether or not I deserved it, of all the stupid things. About how if I just accepted it and said I loved him too the universe would just take it all away from me. It's ridiculous."
"No, it's not." Rapunzel said soothingly. "But if you do love him, I think you should say so."
"Are you positive?"
"Completely." Rapunzel nodded. "You have to be brave with these things. If you don't try to go after what you want, then you'll never know if you could-" she cut herself off for a second, looking towards the window. "...have it."
"Are you okay?" Belle asked, noticing her friends distraction.
"Belle, these fairy tale curses we have, my sisters and I…"
"Yes?"
"Do you think they could be broken?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean…" Rapunzel snapped back to attention. "We've been spending our lives managing them, but what if we didn't have to? What if there was a way to be free of them forever?"
"All curses in stories can be broken, maybe yours could too!" Belle said excitedly. "We can figure out how to do this, I'm sure."
"I'm not." Rapunzel said honestly. But, dammit, I'd really like to try."
"Here, I have some books stashed in the library that would be good." Belle said, thinking quickly. "I'm going to go see Adam tomorrow, and I'll find more. He has so many in his shop, and in his house. I'll be back." Belle ran out of the room quickly.
Rapunzel smiled, placing her hands on her face. This was the first time she felt hope, actual hope, about her curse. Sure, they were not any closer to being free than before, but Rapunzel felt that at least they were taking a step, and that was something.
She was so happy, so caught up in the potential of an ending she hadn't foreseen, that she didn't even notice that she was being watched, right through her own window.
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