Chapter 24—"With Me Forever More"
Life had become rather ridiculous.
As if Rumplestiltskin's pining was not bad enough, Fiona found herself missing the girl. How had Belle gone from mildly entertaining servant to co-conspirator to something approaching a friend? Fiona hadn't had many friends in her life, and most of them had been fairies, but somehow Belle had crept into her heart, too. Despite her wishes. Oh, the girl was maddeningly good and all too often full of her (regrettably considerable) intelligence, but Fiona liked Belle, even though she didn't really want to.
If Rumplestiltskin didn't do something soon, Fiona was going to have to go after Belle herself. That was that. Either that, or she'd have to go find Tiger Lily, which was a far more intimidating proposition. Fiona missed Tiger Lily, but the idea of telling her old friend that she'd failed to save her son made her chest tight. She still wanted to save Rumplestiltskin, but her conversation with the Apprentice made it clear that—
"What?"
The sudden yelp jerked Fiona back to the present, and she realized that her son had bolted upright from his chair and was now standing, staring at absolutely nothing. Every line of his body screamed tension and anticipation. Fiona hadn't seen him look so alive in months.
"Rumple? Are you all right?" The last thing she wanted to hear was about how the voices inside him were getting more powerful; sometimes, Fiona could feel them eating at him, and she worried for her boy. The longer Belle was gone, the harder he had to fight to overcome them, and that broke Fiona's heart. She thought that her presence helped a little, but she wasn't enough. The sodding Apprentice had made that clear.
"I've been summoned." He sounded like someone had hit him between the eyes with a hammer, and that made Fiona frown.
"That's nothing new. Idiot princes summon you practically daily. Twice if there's a dragon around." Three times if it's Maleficent.
"Belle." Rumplestiltskin swung to face her, his brown eyes as wide as his favorite teacup was round. "Belle summoned me."
"Then why are you standing there, you fool boy? Go to her!" Stepping forward, Fiona punctuated her words with a gentle shove. "But do try not to fall into any traps while you're being so delighted."
"I'm not—"
"Oh, do stop pretending." Fiona snorted. "You love the girl. You know it, I know it, and she knows it. So shoo!"
Much to her delight, Rumplestiltskin didn't need to be told twice, and he teleported away in a flash of red smoke after ascertaining Belle's location. Watching him go made Fiona smile, but she also threw a quick magical marker on him, just to make sure she could help out in case he got in trouble. Still, she wasn't expecting trouble. Not from Belle. And she'd check in on them before too long, in any case. Belle has summoned him. Finally!
Perhaps there was reason to hope, after all.
The summons caught Rumplestiltskin by surprise, particularly when the voice with which his name was spoken burnedstraight into his soul. Belle. Months had passed, and he'd assumed he'd never see or hear from her again, but there she was, calling his name three times. A quick spell told him that she had gone home, despite the way she'd discarded that notion when they'd last talked, but Rumplestiltskin hardly cared. Belle was calling for him.
His excitement, however, did not lead to carelessness. Oh, he might have forgotten to leave his mother any indication of where he'd gone—not that Fiona couldn't track him down if she was feeling particularly over-protective—but he wasn't such a fool as to simply teleport himself straight to Belle. Unlikely as it was, the voice of caution told Rumplestiltskin that this could be a trap. He hadn't seen her in months, and anything could happen. You'd deserve it if it was, Zoso snickered in his mind. Pining over that stupid girl as if she were the center of the world.
Ignoring his predecessor, Rumplestiltskin teleported himself to the kingdom of Avonlea, straight to the hallway outside the council chamber in which he had first met Belle. There he paused to listen to the rumble of voices coming from within, wondering why Belle would have called to him from there of all places. She wasn't alone, despite the fact that he'd hoped for a private reunion; in fact, she was quite surrounded. Her oaf of a father was there, along with at least a dozen others. But not the former fiancé. The idiot who had claimed ownership over Belle wasn't there, which at least led Rumplestiltskin to hope that he wasn't being invited for a wedding.
A flick of his fingers sent a spell sailing out which let him see through the wall; Rumplestiltskin was always one for a show, after all.
"You see? He's not coming. We have nothing to offer him, and he knows it," some officious idiot in a uniform grumbled.
"He'll come." Belle looked supremely confident, but it was her beauty that took Rumplestiltskin's breath away. How had he forgotten how beautiful she was?
Sir Maurice frowned. "Sweetheart, are you sure you want to risk this? We can find another way to defeat the—"
"Like what?" Belle's chin jutted out defiantly, and Rumplestiltskin prayed she wasn't talking about him. "We need magic, Papa. Gaston's alliance with Zelena means she will come here, and we need someone more powerful than she is. And that leaves Rumplestiltskin."
The uniformed boor scoffed. "Who's to say that the Dark One is more powerful than the Queen? If he is, why would he let her reign of terror continue? Why not take power for himself?"
Oh, that was too rich. Belle looked offended on his behalf, but Rumplestiltskin couldn't let that stand, so he teleported into the room in a cloud of golden smoke.
Why gold? Certainly not because it reminded him of the dress Belle had worn that first day. He was not so sentimental.
"Perhaps I'm far too busy to indulge in simplistic things like ruling cretins." He giggled, gesturing at the glaring uniform. "Such as yourself. It's terribly boring."
The worm glowered, his face growing redder and redder with rage. But Rumplestiltskin's opportunity to needle the fool dissipated as soon as Belle stepped forward, and the huge smile splitting her face made his heart skip several beats.
"Rumplestiltskin!" She bounced right up to him, so close that he could have touched her if he dared. "You came."
"You called." Not letting his voice deepen was impossible; Rumplestiltskin tried a twirling gesture of his hand to cover his emotional reaction, but he knew Belle wasn't fooled. You'd best pray the others are, Spinner, Nimue's voice growled. You're hopeless.
A little smile flickered across Belle's face, and the twinkle in her blue eyes said that she was actually happy to see him. She was happy because of him. Rumplestiltskin could have walked on clouds without magic, even when she turned serious to say: "We need your help. Gaston took over my father's lands while I was gone, and he's allied with Zelena. We dealt with him, but she's sure to come back."
"We need to make a deal with you, Dark One." Much to Rumplestiltskin's surprise, Sir Maurice stepped forward, looking both miserable and terrified. Now this was a man who hadn't had a good few weeks, although Rumplestiltskin didn't find himself pitying Belle's father overmuch. Any man who let his daughter leave with a monster like him could not be much of a father.
Then again, would Belle have ever let someone else step forward? The very thought was ridiculous. Rumplestiltskin had lost more arguments with Belle than he'd won, and he knew how stubborn she was. Perhaps Sir Maurice wasn't the world's worst father, even if he had let his daughter make that choice. No one decides my fate but me, Belle had said. Rumplestiltskin should not be surprised to see her running the show here, either.
"A deal?" He let the words roll off of his tongue deliciously; Maurice was easier to rile up than Belle. She knew him too well.
"Surely there is something you want from us." Maurice said the words like he was dreading the answer, and Rumplestiltskin couldn't help the way his eyes flicked straight to Belle.
Want? Try need. Love. Any word but "want", he didn't say. However, before Rumplestiltskin could find words, Belle spoke, meeting his eyes warmly.
"I will come with you, again. If you want."
Brash girl, to tempt the Dark One twice. Zoso sounded hungry, and his sadistic glee made Rumplestiltskin's stomach lurch.
He could have her, he knew. He could demand forever—even marriage, a thought that made his spine tingle—and Belle would come back to the Dark Castle without even a moment's hesitation. More importantly, Rumplestiltskin could see that Belle wanted to come back with him, so he wouldn't even be taking an unwilling-but-brave girl as his indentured maid. He could accept the terms of her deal with a clear conscience, could have everything he wanted. He could tell her he loved her once they got home, could give her everything her heart might desire—
Except freedom. He would be taking that from her a second time, and somehow, Rumplestiltskin's long-battered conscience could not countenance that. Not for Belle.
"No." His throat had gone dry and made the word come out hoarsely, but it was understandable enough. "I'm not making a deal for you."
"Why—why not?" Blue eyes wide, Belle stared at him in shock and hurt. "Don't…don't you want me to come back?"
"Oh, Belle." A soft smile took over his face despite his best efforts to keep looking like the fearsome Dark One. "Of course I do. But not like this."
She was swift, his Belle, and he could see that she knew what he meant. Still, her mind was clearly on her people's safety. "We still need your help."
"Of course you do. Zelena is always…bothersome." Rumplestiltskin took her hand and bowed over it, brushing his lips across her knuckles. "But you have only to ask, and I will help."
Just touching her sent a delicious chill down his spine, and the wide-eyed look Belle gave him made Rumplestiltskin's heart beat still faster. You fool! Zoso howled. She'll take advantage! She'll use—
"But surely there's a price?"
She was right, of course, and Rumplestiltskin cast his eyes around the room quickly. His magic would demand something in exchange, although standing up to his own student wasn't the kind of hardship that dealing with hundreds of ogres had been. "There's always a price." He giggled for the audience's benefit. "I'll take…that."
He'd pointed at an ugly candelabra that was probably a family heirloom, but wasn't magical or in any way special. Still, Belle grimaced slightly—he'd need to ask her about that later. Rumplestiltskin was trying to do this the right way, for once in his miserably dark life. He loved her, heaven help him, and that meant he couldn't ask for Belle. Not even when she wanted to come.
"Only that old thing?" The uniformed nitwit demanded, reminding Rumplestiltskin that he was hardly alone with Belle.
"That candelabra has been in my family for generations, Captain!" Belle whirled to face the Idiot-Captain, but Rumplestiltskin could tell she was playing up how affronted she was on behalf of the ugly candelabra. "It's quite precious to us."
On second glance, the thing was even sadder looking than he'd first thought. It was far too gaudy, even for him, and given his penchant for gold and glitter, that was saying something. The blustering fool had a good point, though; the candelabra was nowhere near valuable enough to broker a deal for the Dark One to protect them against the Wicked Queen. Yet Belle calling it precious aloud was just enough to satisfy his inner demons, even though he could feel Nimue grumbling about being out-maneuvered. Clever girl. Not grinning at Belle's act was hard. Was she only doing that for the audience's benefit, or did she know how such words affected his magic? He wouldn't the latter past her. She was far too clever.
"Well, then, precious will do." He giggled and danced a little, just for effect, but what Rumplestiltskin really liked was how the smile Belle shot him made Sir Maurice turn a little green.
"That's settled, then." Belle turned to her father, regality personified. "I believe the meeting is over then, don't you, Papa?"
Sir Maurice looked like he didn't know what to say in the face of his daughter's calm. After a moment, the bamboozled man just nodded. "Yes, yes, of course."
"Are you certain, My Lord?" the uniformed nincompoop asked, which finally roused Maurice into glaring.
"Of course I'm sure. You all may go." He waved them out, and the crowd finally filed out, leaving Rumplestiltskin alone with Belle and her father.
He wasn't expecting Belle to leap forward and fling her arms around him. At first, Rumplestiltskin didn't know what to do; she was so warm and so real against his chest that his heart almost stopped. Finally, he realized that he should wrap his arms around her, and did so, holding on tightly. Then her breath came softly in his ear.
"I missed you so much." Belle squeezed him tightly. "I was about to head back to the Dark Castle, but then I heard that Gaston had taken over, and I had to come here, first."
His breath caught in his throat. "First?"
"Yes, first." Belle pulled back and smiled at him, biting her lip in a way that made his stomach do a nervous backflip. "I told you I'd come back."
"You did, but I"—Rumplestiltskin gulped hard, possibilities flying through his mind. She couldn't mean what he thought she meant. She had to have come to her senses. "I…I was sure you would change your mind."
"I knew what I was getting into." Her eyes glowed like sunlight, even when Belle gave an awkward little shrug. "Or at least I did figure it out. Eventually."
A startled laugh bubbled out of him. "Well, it did take you a little while."
"Stop that." But the light slap she directed at his shoulder was accompanied by a grin, which meant turning her into something nasty never even occurred to Rumplestiltskin. "You know what I mean."
"I might." Damn it all, he was smiling. He'd missed her so much that it hurt, and just having her nearby was a heady feeling. Even more disturbingly, Belle was still touching him, with gentle hands lying on his arms, her fingers squeezing periodically to emphasize her words. And all the voices within his mind were silent.
He almost didn't know what to do, the feeling was so wonderful.
"You, um, know that candelabra isn't much, right?" Suddenly, Belle looked so hesitant. "I know your magic demands a price. I would have gone with you again. Forever. It wouldn't have been a hardship. I—I still want to."
"Oh, Belle." Rumplestiltskin had to fight back the soft smile that turned his lips upwards; he just wanted to hold her in his arms again and never let go. "I know. But I couldn't ask that. If"—he didn't dare say when—"you come with me, I don't want it to be part of a deal. I want it to be your choice."
"It is." Her quick answer made him smile, at least until Sir Maurice reminded them both that he was still in the room.
"Now, wait just a minute—"
"Papa, you don't know Rumplestiltskin like I do." Belle swung to face her father, her expression every bit as stubborn as any of the ones she'd ever turned on Rumplestiltskin. "And you don't know anything that happened after I left home, either. Isn't it enough that he's come here to help us against Zelena and has barely asked for anything in exchange?"
Maurice scowled. "Belle, we should speak in private."
Belle grabbed Rumplestiltskin's hand defiantly, and his worry over how this was going to go evaporated. "Anything you want to say to me, you can say in front of Rumplestiltskin."
He almost jeered at the knight, but Rumplestiltskin managed to stop himself, no matter how good mocking Maurice would feel. I should be worthy of her love. The darkness inside him still coiled and burned, but the voices were silent while Belle held his hand. He still wasn't sure how or why that worked, but it made him more himself, and Rumplestiltskin actually liked that feeling.
"Sweeting, he's the Dark One. He's offered to help us, but—but surely you don't actually want to go with him?"
Ah, he'd been listening. Rumplestiltskin rarely lost track of his surroundings, but he'd been too occupied with Belle. This is going to get messy. Surely Belle would tell her father that he'd misunderstood. Rumplestiltskin wanted her to come back to the Dark Castle more than anything in the world, but even Belle, as good hearted as she was, couldn't really want to come back to the monster's lair. Yet she said…
"Of course I do. I love him, Papa, and he loves me."
The bold statement clearly shook Maurice as much as it did Rumplestiltskin; both men staggered slightly, staring at Belle in shock. Rumplestiltskin managed to force a smirk onto his face at the last moment, because he was not going to stand here gaping when Maurice was doing the same. Maurice, on the other hand, gasped for air like a fish out of water. "Belle, you can't mean—"
"I meant exactly what I said. Rumple let me go so that I could make my decision freely, and I choose him." Belle's chin rose proudly as she spoke, and Rumplestiltskin marveled at her courage.
"And you?" Unexpectedly, Maurice turned to look at Rumplestiltskin. "Do you love my daughter?"
Rumplestiltskin swallowed hard; he'd never dared say the words before. So, he turned to Belle, noticing the way her eyes shined as she looked at him expectantly. "Yes," he whispered, not caring that Maurice was watching. "Yes, I do."
Belle's smile was as bright as the sun.
"Why would you want to come back?" The whisper was out before Rumplestiltskin could stop it; even if he couldn't hear the voices, his own doubts were raging. Belle was so beautiful and so strong. She could have anyone she wanted, so why him?
"You know why." She squeezed his hand again. "If you'll have me."
"Of course I will." He'd meant to say something clever, but cleverness deserted him. Belle just smiled radiantly again, and then she leaned forward—
Fiona's voice cut between them moments before they could kiss. "Aren't they quite adorable? From one parent to another, isn't it lovely when your child finally finds happiness?"
Rumplestiltskin and Belle broke apart, and he glared at his mother. Why did she have to show up now? Belle loved him, he'd admitted that he loved her, and they'd been so close to kissing! He wanted to strangle his mother, but the gobsmacked look on Maurice's face almost made the interruption worth it.
"You—you're—"
"The Black Fairy." Fiona reached out and patted Maurice's arm in a friendly manner. She smiled sweetly. "And Rumplestiltskin's mother, of course."
Even Belle coughed back a giggle when Maurice seemed ready to faint. "It's all right, Papa. Fiona isn't here to harm anyone."
"Aren't I?" His mother looked offended, until Belle glared. "Well, perhaps not. Not today, anyway. Look at these two lovebirds! They're practically glowing. I would ask if they needed privacy, but as a parent, I insist on proper supervision."
"Mother!" Rumplestiltskin felt his face heating up, and he wanted to sink into the floor and die.
Fiona just gave him a knowing smile, and while he thought he could see a glitter of something in her eyes, Rumplestiltskin really couldn't deal with that right now. He was too embarrassed to think so critically.
"Don't be difficult, Rumple. If you're going to court the girl properly, you shouldn't start by kissing her in front of her father."
"If I'm going to—what?" The words stuttered out incredulously, and Rumplestiltskin again found himself wanting the floor to swallow him whole.
"It is what's done these days, isn't it?" Fiona turned an innocently curious look on Maurice, who looked as taken aback as Rumplestiltskin did.
Fortunately, Belle came to his flabbergasted rescue. "I hardly think that's necessary." She gave Fiona a hard look, which only made his mother giggle softly. "Rumplestiltskin and I already know what our feelings are. A courtship would be redundant at this point."
Rumplestiltskin could have kissed her, and would have, if Fiona hadn't started going on about how adorable they were again. Maurice looked like he wanted to die, too, but that hardly made things better.
"My stupid little stepdaughter has gone to war against King George." Zelena's sneer was epic, and it was all Killian could do not to roll his eyes. How he'd ended up eating dinner with the Wicked Queen was beyond him; it probably had to do with the fact that her favorite Huntsman had gone missing, and she was looking for entertainment.
Killian still wasn't sure how he'd get out of this one without sleeping with her. It wasn't that he found her physically repulsive—although the green complexion did take some getting used to. And it certainly had nothing to do with any lack of willingness on her part. Still, he was uneasy; Killian preferred to have an equal in his bed, and the power imbalance between him and a sorcerer left him on guard.
"That seems counterproductive." Killian was well aware of how powerful King George's army and navy both were; in his line of work, it paid to keep track of both. "Unless she has some backing from somewhere else?"
"Of course she doesn't." An offended sniff. "I've made sure no other royal is going to help them."
Leave it to Zelena to think that only royalty mattered now that she was royal. For a moment, Killian contemplated saying nothing, but in the end, his fortune was a little tied to the Wicked Queen, so he spoke up. "And the people? Do King George's people prefer their 'charming' prince over their king?"
That earned him a narrow-eyed look, and too late, Killian remembered that Zelena had been somewhat involved with Prince James. Guess he wised up. Too bad I can't do the same—I've gained a lot of treasure playing privateer against her enemies, and it pays to have a powerful protector. He also was still counting on her for help against Rumplestiltskin, since he hadn't been able to find the damned dagger on his own. If it even existed. Baelfire wouldn't have lied to me, would he have? Sometimes, Killian regretted not having brought the boy with him out of Neverland, but Pan would never have heard of that.
"They might." Zelena's thoughtful sigh caught him off guard, and Killian had to remind himself that she was smart. Too smart, really. It was only that she let her emotions rule her intellect sometimes, and then she was catty and unpredictable. "I'm going to have to offer him help, aren't I? If his own people can't stomach him, that'll give the repulsive girl a kingdom with which to attack mine."
"I've heard it's always better to fight a war in someone else's territory. Wiser to let George and his men do the bleeding, if you're going to have to fight her eventually."
"Indeed." Zelena sat back, pursing her lips thoughtfully. "Excellent idea, Captain. Why don't you take an offer of alliance to King George for me? I'm sure we can figure out some way for him to pay me back."
The way she said that made Killian wonder if that way wasn't going to be Zelena adding George's kingdom to her own, but he really didn't care. His impending mission gave him an excuse not to wind up in her bed, and that was good enough for him.
They didn't manage to steal a private moment until hours later. Fiona had been all but stuck to them, and she'd dragged Belle's hapless father along. While Belle was glad that her father seemed to be leaning towards accepting the idea of her and Rumplestiltskin together—not that he was there yet, but he'd come around—Fiona's constant presence left her a little confused. She wanted us to fall in love, so why does she insist on playing 'chaperone' now? Is that for Papa's benefit, and if so, why?
"I do want to go back with you." Belle still held Rumplestiltskin's hand, glad that she could do it openly and not have him run away. "Forever, if you'll have me."
"Belle, I—" Face red, he seemed to be trying not to stutter. "Of course I want you." Rumplestiltskin's voice dropped to that deep and human voice that always gave her the shivers. "I always have."
"But you weren't sure I really wanted you, were you?" She had to ask, even if it stung. "That's why you wanted me to go."
"I…I know what I am." He swallowed noisily. "Beautiful maidens do not—"
"Hey." She smacked him lightly on the arm. "I thought we were past that."
Rumplestiltskin nodded shakily. "I wanted it to be your choice. Not a consequence of the deal we made."
"You wanted it to be real." Belle understood that, and she really did like how Rumplestiltskin respected her choices. Gaston never had.
"Yes."
"Then can I show you how real what I feel is?" Coming up on her tiptoes, Belle leaned close, and—
"Gaston's gone." Mulan's voice broke them apart as they were about to kiss, and made both whirl to face her.
"What?" Belle felt her insides go cold. Next to her, Rumplestiltskin let out a very quiet snarl, one that promised death and destruction.
For once, she agreed with him.
So did Mulan, judging from the look on her face. "He bribed a few guards, and killed others. LeFou is looking for him already, and I'm going to go join him. I just wanted to let you know."
"Thank you." Belle watched Mulan nod and then depart before turning to Rumplestiltskin. "You know where he's gone."
"To Zelena, of course." His sneer was a thing of beauty. "Let her have him. We always knew she'd come here eventually; now we know when."
"Is she powerful enough to be a problem?"
Rumplestiltskin snorted. "Hardly. I've taught her everything she knows."
"All right." Belle swallowed, though. "This is my home, Rumple. I want it to be safe, even if I'm going to come with you."
"You asked for my help, and you have it." The soft smile he gave her warmed Belle's heart. "I will protect your people."
I'm no hero, Rumplestiltskin had told her months earlier. I'll never be a hero.
Belle begged to differ.
A/N: Thank you to everyone who has kept reading even when my posting schedule becomes erratic. Knowing you're enjoying the story means the world to me! Stay tuned for Chapter 25—"Someone Who Understands", in which Hook meets someone even more conceited than he is, Belle and Rumplestiltskin's romance progresses, Bae asks Beans some important questions, Fiona tries to make a special potion, and Maurice tries to talk "sense" into Belle.
