He returned home in a good mood. A triumphant mood! How long had he been trying to get the book he held in his hands?! Weeks? Closer to a month at this point! There were things that he'd bargained for that he'd waited a long time for and things he'd bargained for that he'd wanted only a couple of seconds, but no matter how long the wait or how great the desire he always felt like a burden had been lifted the second he arrived back in his tower with his prize. He felt like he'd accomplished something. He still felt that way. He felt triumphant and ecstatic, and he couldn't wait to tear into the book and see what it revealed…but he didn't want to do it now. That was different. In the past, he might have. In the past, he might very well have hidden himself up here for as long as he could, as long as he'd told Belle he would be gone, and pondered the depths of his discovery in peace and privacy.

But he didn't want that right now. What he wanted now, instead…oh that was quite a different story.

What he wanted was to celebrate. He felt charged and energetic. He felt like he could fly over the moon if he gathered enough energy, and in his mind's eye, he could see himself gather his pretty maid up in his arms, kiss her in jubilant celebration, and stay up all night reading the stories with her and figuring out their meaning.

But it was with the acknowledgment of that fantasy, that it died.

He couldn't let that happen.

He wanted it. He wanted the fantasy he saw in his head so badly! But it was just one more reminder of what he knew he should do. If he cared this much for her, he should set her free. If she was going to be that much of a distraction, that much of a risk to his future with Baelfire, he should send her far away. Perhaps if she managed to heal her friend…

He growled.

He knew what he wanted, and he knew why he had to send her off, but the idea of seeing her go free with her hands wrapped around the pale stranger's arm made him sneer in disgust. He wasn't going to let that happen. Free her he might, but to him…it wasn't something he would even consider.

Frankly, if the state he'd been in when he last saw him was any indication, it wasn't something he had to consider. With any luck, the boy was dead. He wouldn't mourn, but if he'd died on Belle's watch…

He forgot about the book, he set it aside and hurried down the tower stairs to surprise Belle and see what might have transpired while he'd been away. She was caring. If the man had died on her watch, she wasn't likely to take a loss like that well. The body would need to be dealt with. She would need taken care of. Everything else could wait until-

There were no heartbeats.

He'd barely walked out onto the second floor where the boy's room had been, and he already sensed it. No heartbeats. Not a single one. The floor was empty. He ran from the stairs to the room he'd placed the stranger in, his heart felt like it was in his throat and he was going to choke. If he'd hurt her in any way…

But the room was empty. He skidded to a stop just by the door and found it ajar. The sight inside was one of familiarity. It was practically exactly what he'd seen that morning over Belle's shoulder; bandages, books, sheets, the smell of infection and magic mingled together. But it was more than that. His books were there. Not many of them, but there were a few that he recognized from his tower that were now sitting out in the room. And of course, it was missing bodies. Everywhere there was evidence of a sick man and nursemaid, but the sick man and nursemaid were no where to be found.

Footsteps. Before he could panic again, he heard footsteps and a bang. He expanded his senses, opening himself up to the grounds as well as the castle and nearly cried when he found the two heartbeats. He might have stopped panicking entirely, except...something was wrong. The heartbeats were strong and rapid. Both of them. No one that was truly sick had a heartbeat that was "strong and rapid". They were here, somewhere. What were they doing?

He thought of Belle, and in the next moment, she was there. He was in the pantry of all places, looking down the long hall to the door that led outside at the other end. Belle stood at it now, leaned against it with all her weight despite the fact that the bar was lowered over it, holding it into place.

"Belle, what…this isn't a sanctum!" a voice yelled behind the door. "I'm outside! Damn it!"

"I know that too," he heard Belle confess through with a voice that suggested she was on the verge of tears. Anger roared inside of him. As the man began to beat against the door so that the wood moaned and groaned nearly as bad as he had when he'd first arrived. A fraud. He should have known the moment he smelled magic on him!

Magic…he could still sense magic. He could sense it now far more than he had before. On the other side of that door was strong dark magic. What had that boy gotten himself into? What had he brought into his home? He wanted it.

"Belle, have you gone mad?! What are you doing? Let me in!"

"Samuel…you need to leave. Right now," she ordered gently through the door. She was trying to sound stern, trying to impress fear upon him. But it never made it out that way. She was upset. And that made her attempt wholly unsuccessful. "If Rumpelstiltskin finds you out there…" he watched as she took a step away from the door. "I saved your life once. I can't promise that I'll be able to do it again. He's going to be especially unforgiving once he realizes what you intended to do to him."

Now there was an interesting piece of information…what had he tried to do to him? Better yet, what could the Dark One do to a foolish boy? He'd promised Belle he wouldn't end his life. He was going to keep that promise, but what was he to do with him in the meantime. He could think of several lovely options. All of which began with finding out exactly what kind of magic was behind that door.

"But how can you do this to me?" the boy asked, the top of his head suddenly visible through the window as he tried to get a glimpse at his maid. "We've been friends since we were children! Don't you want to come home to your father? His misses you so!"

Friends since childhood…that meant he wasn't a person that she'd met at the market. However, the mention of her father certainly made it seem like someone had been sent to bring her home. He watched her carefully, listened hard with eager anticipation of what she might have to say to such a thing. Did she want to go home? Should he let her?

"I made a promise! And I'm a woman of my word," she insisted, letting herself fall back against the wall. She didn't see him. He was a few feet away as she wrapped her arms around her belly and let tears cloud her vision, and she didn't see him. Just looked to the ceiling as she argued, trying hopelessly to save the boy's life once more, but this time by getting him to leave. "Besides, Rumpelstiltskin may be the Dark One, but he doesn't deserve to be tricked like this, and he certainly doesn't deserve to be trapped in a box for eternity!"

Trapped in a box for eternity! The voices of the Dark Ones within him roared in his ears, but he didn't need them to. Suddenly, he knew exactly what he was going to find behind that door, and he wasn't going to let it go! Just like he wasn't about to let her go. For one brief moment, the banging and the screaming all stopped. There was no movement at all. But in the next second, it came back with a fury, a vengeance and even a violence that hadn't been present before. He hated to think about what that boy, her "childhood friend" might do to her now if she let him in.

"Belle!" Samuel screamed smacking his palms against the window, throwing his shoulder into the wood, yelling at her over and over again so that she lost her footing and sank to the ground. "Please! Let me in! Belle!"

"Good-bye Samuel!" she managed to whisper, her voice cracking like she was going to dissolve into tears. His sentiments exactly.

Enough of this.

Yeah, sorry, I know this is short but it didn't fit well with the last chapter and doesn't fit well with the next chapter. Rumple witnessing Belle being a faithful servant, a woman of her word, was something that had to be all on its own. I'm pleased with it and I hope you will be too.

Thank you, thank you, thank you Grace5231973, Alarda, and Jennifer Baratta for your reviews on the last chapter. They are always very much appreciated. Even though this chapter is short I hope you'll at least like the way that we can see Rumple's priorities shifting in the beginning. Instead of wanting to examine his new toy, Belle is first on his mind. And of course, it's a struggle for him because he knows what he needs to do, I think he's sort of already decided at this point, but spending time with her and inviting her into his life is still becoming a prevalent thought like it's never been before. To see how he does with it, you'll have to journey on to the next chapter! Peace and Happy Reading!