It took him an entire day and night to find Clopin and his band of newcomers. That wasn't too bad considering all the time that had passed since he'd first seen the boy and now. Of course, it helped that he had given them their destination. "Go to the furthest reaches of King George's Kingdom, to avoid the call of war, but bask in the riches that would come after…" They weren't there yet. He found them a few days outside the boarders of King George's Kingdom. He spied them from the trees, looked down on them from a safe perspective. They were more tired than when he'd last seen them, perhaps a little skinnier as well, and there were less of them. Travel certainly did not look good on this group. But there, sitting by the fire at night, was the boy he'd seen before. The same book he'd mentioned was still clutched in his little hands, and he could have screamed. Children…he knew how attached they could get to certain objects, but he'd never seen a boy carry around a book with such fervor. At this point, he was going to need to ask Belle how to get it out of his hands!

He watched them throughout the next day, waited for Clopin to leave the group, and get some rest himself, while they were supposed to track down some food and go collect berries. At first, he'd hoped the boy might be sent out to do some gathering on his own and he might take the book then. But instead, it appeared he might get his chance when he rubbed his eyes and was sent inside their tent to nap for the afternoon. When everyone was distracted, he moved himself inside the boy's tent, hoping the book would be right there and he might take it away and leave the others to assume he'd lost it as little boys did. Instead, the boy was sleeping with the damn thing! His fists curled around it; he held it close to his chest like it was some sort of toy instead of a book!

His options were few. He could take the book and risk the boy not noticing, assume that he would sleep through it and would think he lost it when he woke up. But that entire plan ran the risk that the boy wouldn't wake up. If he did, if he saw him even if it was just a glimpse before he disappeared, he might tell his parents. Two sightings of him and the book missing would give credit to what the boy said and anything he remembered that was in the book. If Clopin put two and two together, it could potentially damage their partnership and that wouldn't be beneficial to him, especially if he didn't know whether or not the information in the book was worth it.

He could have gone back into his tree; waited for another time. He'd told Belle that he'd be back in a week and it was only about two days, he could take a few more days, but he'd already seen enough. This was the final straw. The book was never without the boy, and the boy was never without people. The only thing he could think to do was wait to take the book at a time where there were less people to contend with. They weren't far from George's Kingdom, once they arrived, they'd establish a home of their own, away from Clopin. That would be when he'd tried again. In the meantime…

He used the dagger to cut a small bit off the boy's blanket and pocketed it, then took himself back to his castle.

There were times that he liked to hide in his tower, let Belle think he was still away when he wasn't so he could get work done or even just to get a break from her, get her scent out of his head. But disappointed as he was coming home empty-handed, he sought her out and found her in the kitchen. She was standing at the table, looking down at the food he made sure appeared every day for her to fix their meals. She was laughing! Laughing! Despite the fact that no one had said anything, despite the fact that she was by herself, despite the fact that he couldn't see a single thing that was funny about her situation or this day her shoulders shook with laughter. How did she do that? How did she manage to be in such a good mood during the worst of situations? He could stand to learn to do that.

"My, my, my I never knew my presence could reduce you to bouts of laughter!"

Her smile vanished as she jumped at the sound of his voice. "Rumpelstiltskin!" she exclaimed. "I uh…I didn't know you were back!"

"Well, it is my castle!" he teased. "I'm sorry to disappoint, but I had to return eventually."

She opened her mouth, and her gaze swept over him before she closed it quickly and looked down at the table. She was blushing. Why was she blushing?

"I'm just surprised," she clarified even as her blush deepened across her chest. "I wasn't expecting you until later and I thought I'd be dining by myself tonight but…"

But…

That but could lead to a number of different explanations. But she was happy he was back. But she was upset she had to cook for two. But she was glad to be mistaken. But she'd been looking forward to the night alone?! Which "but" was it?!

"Your trip!" she exclaimed suddenly, looking up at him with bright and interested eyes that made him want to shake her until she went back to whatever it was she was going to say. "Tell me about your trip! Did it go well? Where did you go? Why are you back early?"

He tapped his fingers together as he entered the room and felt heat stir against his skin. "So many, many questions, why so curious?"

"Because while you've been out seeing the world, I've been holed up here alone for the last two days," she joked smiling at him. "And you said that you'd be gone longer, if you're back early I…I only wonder if that means things went well."

"Some unforeseen circumstances cut my trip short," he commented sadly. He knew what she was like when she used that tone of voice. She wanted a story, she was hungry for information. And this time he didn't have a gauntlet to hand her and change the subject. But…maybe something else would work?

"Well, did you find what you were after?"

"Not today," he whispered, disappointed. He would have been pleased to report to her that he'd succeeded, to show her that he'd collected a book of all things. But he'd returned empty-handed. Fortunately, his memories of his last encounter with Clopin reminded him that he did have a book waiting for her. With all the confusion over David and after waking up without his memories, he'd forgotten to give the last one to her. "But," he shrieked, aware that he didn't startle her as she poured warm water for them. How did she always know exactly what he needed and wanted? "On my way back, I was fortunate to come across an old woman selling trinkets out of the back of a wagon, and I happened to pick up a treasure of a different nature."

He offered his hand and she looked put off by it before he summoned the book he'd found for her on the back of Clopin's wagon. Immediately she set the teapot aside so hard that he thought it might break. Her jaw dropped, and she stepped closer to take it from his hands.

"For me?" she asked breathlessly, despite the fact that it was already in her hands.

"For whatever trouble my early arrival caused you."

But he wasn't sure that she heard the words. She was already turning the book over and over in her hands, examining the binding, checking the leather at the corners, her hands touched every inch of that book before opening it up to examine the title page and, he assumed, the author.

"Don't get too excited," he urged quickly. "It's not the author you asked me to look for. It's from our own realm. I'm afraid this time you'll have to settle for a different sort of tale!"

"It's wonderful!" she said with a laugh in her voice. Her blush grew again, and she took a small step that made him fear and hope for one brief second that she might launch herself into his arms again. He was already considering how he would respond to such an action when she stepped back and held it tight to her chest, just as the boy had. The only difference between the two was that the boy hadn't hidden beautiful rounded cleavage from what he was sure were two perfect breasts.

"Thank you," she smiled.

He swallowed and tried to get the thought he'd had out of his head. What did he care if her breasts were perfect or not?

"It's no matter," he dismissed, turning to the table to find a distraction. All he found was the cups of tea that she'd poured for them. Exactly the perfect thing. "But don't get too used to it, dearie!" he snapped, pushing a cup in her direction. "This was simply a coincidence I saw fit to take advantage of. You get a new book to read, and I get the peace and quiet that comes from you reading a new book, after you're finished with whatever it is you're working on now of course." He motioned to the book that she had in front of her, the book that had somehow made her laugh when he'd first walked in.

"Oh, no!" she corrected, setting the new book aside and pulling the old one closer. It was only then that he was it wasn't a regular book at all. It was a cookbook. "I was just trying to figure out what to make for dinner. I think that I've made everything in this book!"

"An accomplishment for someone who'd never set foot in a kitchen before. Surely you must have your favorites."

"Of course, I do, but…why is it always beef?" she questioned with an exasperated breath.

"I happen to like beef!"

"Everyone does," she added quickly. "But I feel like we've had nothing but beef for the last few weeks! I'm ready for chicken or to try cooking fish."

"You don't do the shopping." Neither did he, frankly, but he summoned food based on what he felt like or thought of. To be honest, he rarely had a preference. He supposed beef was just his default. He could fix that, change to chicken and add fish to the rotation for her if she wanted.

"No…but…but I could…"

He swallowed and turned to glance at her again, her eyes examining his face with a less than innocent expression; less than confident as well. The room stilled. Was she asking, suggesting, what he thought she was?

"Perhaps if someone ever cared to accompany me to the village at the bottom of the mountain, I could find us something besides beef. Something we'd both like to try!"

She was asking what he thought she was. And he felt suddenly like the world had flipped them both upside-down.

"Are you asking to leave?" he managed to choke out.

"Never," she snapped with cold insistence, as if she was insulted that he'd even made the suggestion. He'd never felt such relief in his life as that glare. Funny, why had panic been his first reaction? Belle gave a small shrug. "At least not the kind of leaving you are thinking of."

"Then tell me, what other type of leaving do you have on your mind?" His heart raced at her words. What other kind of leaving was there?! She wasn't happy with something and she wanted to leave. What had he done to encourage that?!

She took a breath and turned to face him with a seriousness he'd never seen in her eyes, not even when he'd done something stupid and she insisted he fix it!

"A weekly trip to the village down the road, to their market so I can plan meals and buy the food myself from now on…"

"That village is at the bottom of the mountain, what you are proposing is a day's trip, on your own, down a mountain, and through a thick wood where the path is nearly impossible to follow on several occasions." And she could barely navigate climbing a ladder without falling off. "It's out of the question! Besides, what would I reap from the benefit of a deal like this in the end but a day of solitude wondering if my maid will ever return?!"

"You could come with me!" she insisted before he could storm out of the room, wondering how their encounter could have started so well and ended so poorly. But now…she wanted him to go with her? Wanted him? With her? He couldn't have heard that right. "I never said I wanted to go alone. You could go with me, that way you won't have to worry or be in the castle by yourself. And you won't have to make sure that I have food all the time. It'll make things easier on you."

For a moment, he was tempted. So tempted. He could see the images so clearly in his head he might have been having a vision, the pair of them walking through the forest, her hand in the crook of his arm, chatting and smiling along their way, a basket swinging from her arm as they walked.

She was older then. Older and urging him to put whatever he was holding away and come have a picnic with her in the sunset. An old scroll, that was what he was holding. It was important somehow and yet he quickly rolled it up and obeyed her call.

Fantasy. That's all it was. An image his imagination had conjured up. And it was because of that image, that fantasy, that he couldn't allow the first one to come true. He swallowed before he turned to face her, summoning the courage to tell her the last thing he ever wanted to tell her.

"It's far easier for me to ensure you have food than to take the time to escort you to the village. The answer is 'no'."

With no other explanation he strode out of the kitchen feeling almost lightheaded and sick to his stomach. He hated saying no to her. He hated being the reason she didn't smile.

I love these chapters. LOVE THEM. In fact, I love everything that's about to happen in the next month because with the exception of only a few chapters these are some of the Rumbelleiest Rumbelle chapters ever! These are the chapters where you find Rumple really in the thick of it. Where you want to scream at him that he is so totally, completely, and wholly in love that he's being an idiot, but there's no bother because we all know he'd never listen to you anyway. I'm so excited for you to read them.

Thank you Alarda, Grace5231973, and Jennifer Baratta for your reviews on the last chapter. I'm hoping you'll like this and I'm sort of hoping that Moments Readers will remember this plotline. This chapter was added into Moments at a later date. It's nothing that was ever "seen" but when the Comic Short "Of Truth and Daggers" came out, I had to add a bunch of chapters to Moments and I had to add about two in order to set that sequence up. This comes from those chapters of "set-up" and I was really happy to find that they played into Rumple's current story really well! I hope that as we move forward, you'll agree. Peace and Happy Reading!