Belle woke with a slight crick in her neck the pile of straw didn't offer much comfort. Pale light streamed in through the small window of her cell.

It took her a moment to recall where she was and how she got there. The ogres, Rumplestiltskin, the deal. And now here she was. She'd barely had time to rub the sleep from her eyes when the door opened.

"Time to get up dearie," trilled Rumple. How anyone had that much energy in the morning bewildered Belle but she stood without complaint.

"You're to go to the kitchen and prepare breakfast." Rumplestiltskin told her firmly.

"Good morning to you too," muttered Belle sarcastically under her breath.

"What was that dearie?" really, she'd have to see if she could convince him to call her by her name.

"I said very well." covered Belle. She saw his large almost lizard like eyes narrow slightly but he let the matter drop. Antagonizing a man who could turn you into a toad. Smart idea Belle! She thought to herself as she headed to the kitchen.

Belle pulled down one of the cook books from the shelf and perused it trying to find something easy. Surely, he wouldn't expect anything particularly fancy just yet.

The easiest thing would probably be to simply cook some porridge and sausages that she found in the food store.

Determined to start the day with her best foot forward Belle started the woodfire stove and heated the pot. She then moved to start cooking the sausages.

It wasn't going too badly or so she thought until she lost track of the time on the porridge and in her hurry to stop it burning Belle grabbed the hot iron pot and promptly dropped it with a cry her hand reddened from the heat. The hem of her dress caught one of the coals of the nearby fire and began to smoke. Gasping Belle pulled away and stamped it out.

Apparently, the noise in the kitchen had been loud enough to draw Rumplestiltskin's attention as he arrived in a puff of crimson smoke.

"What the HELL is going on?" he demanded. Belle felt her face flush with embarrassment.

"I was attempting to make breakfast," she answered not meeting his eyes.

"And you thought nearly destroying the kitchen was a good way to start?" anger at her own incompetence filled Belle and she snapped.

"Because everything you've ever done has turned out perfect on the first try?" she turned away and began trying to clean things up some of the anger draining from her as swiftly as it had come. Rumplestiltskin dodged her question.

"Well you could attempt to make less of a commotion! Clean this up and then just bring out a bowl of fruit and some bread and jam. We don't need any more accidents this morning."

"As you wish," Belle replied feeling like a bit of a failure.

OUAT

Rumplestiltskin was caught between annoyance and amusement at his new maid's utter disaster of an attempt at breakfast.

It had to be some sort of achievement to be able to make such a mess out of simple porridge and sausage. He'd considered laughing until she'd greeted his sarcastic observation with one of her own. She wasn't wrong after all he had made a mess of plenty of spells and potions the first time around. But he could hardly let her know she was right.

"Well, you could attempt to make less of a commotion! Clean this up and then just bring out a bowl of fruit and some bread and jam. We don't need any more accidents this morning."

"As you wish," she replied and he teleported to his spinning wheel in the great hall. A little while later she entered carrying a tray and he took his seat at the table. As she set it down, he noticed her right hand was bandaged.

"What happened to your hand?" he asked taking it and removing the bandage. Strangely she didn't seem to shy away from his touch.

"I burned it on the handle of the pan," she answered shortly. It occurred to him as he looked at her slightly downcast expression that she was taking her failure rather hard. Not so much out of fear of him it seemed. No her occasional mouthiness showed that wasn't the case. She was taking it as a personal failure.

Rumplestiltskin viewed the now severely reddened skin of her once ivory palm. Without thinking he waved his hand and the skin healed itself returning to it's original unblemished state. She gasped in surprise before examining her hand in fascination. Then she turned her shining blue eyes to him.

"Thank you." Rumplestiltskin cleared his throat.

"You're hardly of any use to me if you can't use your hands properly." he answered dismissively. However, the small smile she gave him was a little too understanding for his comfort.

"Well, thank you all the same." she curtsied and departed leaving him to eat and ponder why the HELL he'd bothered to heal her. He was starting to wonder if this woman was going to be more trouble than expected.

OUAT

He had healed her. Belle was reeling slightly from the interaction. When he'd taken her hand she hadn't been sure what to expect. But certainly not for him to use his magic to fix a consequence of her incompetence.

Incidentally it was the first time they'd had any sort of prolonged skin to skin contact and while the texture of his oddly tinted skin was slightly more uneven than a normal man's it was not unpleasant and the touch itself had been surprisingly gentle as he examined her hand.

Truly he couldn't be all bad. Nobody who was would had bothered to heal their servant's hand whatever justification he had offered.

There was also the added aspect of seeing him use magic. The way it had fixed her hand so that it was good as new fascinated her. Then again while she'd never had a particular inclination to learn the art the concept itself at always interested her.

It was also proof, that dark magic clearly could be used for good. Healing was not an evil action. Although come to think about it one could also consider getting rid of the ogres good even if it had come with a price as all magic did.

Belle shook herself out of her musings she needed to get to work. She wasn't going to repay her master's kindness by lazing around. Going to the store cupboard she found a mop, duster, broom, rags, and soap. The first thing she'd start cleaning was the kitchen.

OUAT

Belle was exhausted as it neared supper time. But there was something satisfying about having completed something for herself. The kitchen was no longer dusty and covered with grime. Every surface had been scrubbed clean and all the kitchen utensils had been sorted in a way Belle felt would make them easiest to access.

Now dinner was approaching she once again felt nervous. Flipping through the cookbook she found a fairly simple recipe for beef stew. This time she was meticulous in her timing preparing the chopped vegetables and beef before starting the stew cooking.

She followed the instructions to the letter and was relieved when it was time to remove the product from the stove. She ladled some into a small bowl and tasted it. Well, it wasn't exactly as flavorful as hoped but it was at least edible.

Belle ladled some into a larger bowl and placed some bread and butter on the tray to go with it before carrying it up to the Great Hall where Rumplestiltskin was once again spinning. He did that a lot. Having seen her he moved to the table and sat down.

"Didn't destroy anything this time dearie?" he asked however she noted his tone was what one would almost call teasing rather than patronizing.

"Only nearly burnt the bread once," Belle replied with a slight smile.

"Quite the achievement," quipped Rumplestiltskin tasting the stew which he evidently found acceptable as he made no comment on it.

"Well, books really are quite helpful," answered Belle.

"I take it reading was a preferred past time of yours," commented Rumplestiltskin. Drawn in as she always was when she was discussing literature Belle smiled.

"Yes, I spent most of my time with my nose in a book. Be it learning about fascinating places and people around the world or reading a simple adventure."

"I suppose you like silly romances of handsome prince's and damsels being rescued." Belle shrugged.

"Not always but fiction like that has it's place. Literature can also serve as an effective escape whether from boredom, grief, or more recently the horrors of war." her voice softened at this last part.

OUAT

Rumplestiltskin was pleasantly surprised his maid had managed to actually make an edible dinner and for some reason suddenly found himself asking her about herself.

"I take it reading was a preferred past time of yours," he said and watched her face quite literally light up at the topic. The sight made him feel quite pleased.

"Yes, I spent most of my time with my nose in a book. Be it learning about fascinating places and people around the world or reading a simple adventure."

So he'd been right on his guess about her being bookish. He noticed that she seemed to read not just for pleasure but also to truly improve her mind which intrigued him. Intellectual pursuits had actually made up a fair portion of the past few centuries. Partially in his search for Bae but also personal interest.

Still he had to act the part of the monster.

"I suppose you like silly romances of handsome prince's and damsels being rescued." he said slightly scornfully. Surprisingly Belle didn't take offense and instead simply shrugged.

"Not always but fiction like that has its place. Literature can also serve as an effective escape whether from boredom, grief, or more recently the horrors of war." He noticed how her face fell slightly as she mentioned the last part.

Princess or no Rumple was starting to suspect that she wasn't entirely sheltered. Something in her blue eyes spoke of pain. Even this noblewoman hadn't escaped unscathed from the ogre wars.

Of course, his experience as a peasant in the ogre wars had been very different and far more overtly difficult. But he too had used stories as an escape. He briefly recalled the nights he would sit with Bae and make up tales to distract his boy from the horrors of the news they received from the Front.

"Yes dearie I suppose it can," he answered softly. It was strange how she kept making him think back on his old life. After all aside from Bae it wasn't a time he liked to reflect on. What was she doing to him?

"Well, if that's all I'll let you eat," said Belle gently before she departed leave Rumplestiltskin with his thoughts.

OUAT

Well that had to be her strangest encounter with him yet. As soon as she brought up the ogre war it was like he had remembered something. His answer had been much quieter and more human tone.

Rumplestiltskin was clearly a man who had lived a long time. One only had to look in his slightly reptilian eyes to see that he held an age and wisdom beyond his physical looks. So surely in such a life he too must have known or at least seen hardship.

She'd felt for a moment as if they had connected over what exactly Belle wasn't certain but it was as if they had a brief instance of understanding and empathy. Belle smiled ruefully

Empathy from the Dark One. Now that was a novel idea.

OUAT

One week later.

Belle was scrubbing the stairs when she heard a loud bang come from Rumplestiltskin's tower where she knew he practiced his magic. With a gasp Belle dropped her scrub brush and raced up the steps to the tower two at a time worry filling her.

She reached the tower and flung open the door to be met with a rather ridiculous sight. The cauldron which Rumplestiltskin had clearly been using had somehow melted and the table walls and even Rumplestiltskin were splattered with what looked like bright green goop. Clearly his experiment had gone wrong.

Rumplestiltskin, who had up till now been swearing spun to face her. Holding back the urge to laugh Belle raised an eyebrow and simply said.

"Never mock my cooking attempts again." Then she spun on her heal and walked back down the stairs. She could have sworn she heard him give a childish "Hmmph" as she left.

Author's note: So my first purely original chapter. I wanted to cover how Rumple knew she was so into books (Hence knowing giving her the library would be such a great gift later on) and also slightly compare their experiences with ogre wars as it's something they do have in common. This was also my first attempt at some comedy so I hope it went over well. Thanks again to all who have commented (Special shout out to Rumbellesille!). If you like the story please leave your thoughts in the comments!