She was wistful lately. And he didn't really know why that surprised him. She was upset because he'd denied her the ability to go into town, he knew that. She wasn't the passive-aggressive type, like Milah had been, but for some reason that was what he'd expected. He'd expected her to slam doors, to plop his food down in front of him with little grace, to refuse to talk to him when he wanted company. But she didn't do any of that. That wasn't the way that Belle got angry. When she was angry, she told him. She yelled and screamed and told him that he was wrong.

At first he was pleased to see she didn't exhibt signs of anger. But the more he watched her, the worse off he found it was. Anger he could deal with. But wistfulness, distraction, sorrow...what the hell was he supposed to do about those?! When they sat together in the evening she often like her gaze wander from her book to the fire. At meals she sighed and laid her head against the back of the chair with sad eyes. During the day he often saw movement from the window of his tower into the window of her tower. Sometimes he even caught her staring out her window into the village. She had no anger, at least none that was directed at him. No, it was almost as if she was upset with herself.

He wanted to understand. He wanted to understand her so much! He wanted to know what was in her head, what she was thinking about, whether or not she was angry, if there was anything that he could do to change! He'd tried. So many times at tea and after dinner he'd tried to think of something to say to her but the words never came! Not even when he simply wanted to ask how she was enjoying the book. Or how she like the chicken and fish he'd added into her diet.

All he felt was guilt. And at the same time fear because all he could think about was all the things that could go wrong if he let her do what she'd requested. She could fall. She could sprain her ankle. She could be kidnapped. She could meet a man, one that might want to rescue her. For all he knew, her next request would be her freedom so she could go with her new knight and he didn't think he'd be able to refuse her.

But…

He wanted so much to make her happy again, so much to see her smile, so much to talk with her again without this between them. And what she'd said…she had a point. Every day he thought of what she might need from the market and summoned it into the kitchen for her. It took him no more than a second, but it was still time that he spent on it. Taking her himself would take even more time. Letting her go on her own…it would make her happy. It would give her something new to do in her day now that most of her initial tasks were done! She always cleaned, but it was maintenance cleaning, now that the entire castle had been cleaned within an inch of its life. The flowers were blooming outside because she'd tended to the gardens. The laundry was always done on time. She'd gone through one of her cookbooks. What else was there for her to do?! Other than read and learn to do something new. Caretaking. Going to the market should be her job, as well as fetching him straw and wool, that was part of the original deal. But he'd never asked her to do it. At first because he didn't trust her, but now it was because he didn't like the idea. But if he ever wanted to see her smile again…there was one solution.

He wasn't trying to sneak up on her, despite the fact that she had a tendency to jump when he showed up that wasn't ever his intention. Maybe in the beginning, but not anymore. Perhaps that was why, when he arrived on the final step of her tower and found her standing at the window, he paused. Her beauty meant nothing to him, but that didn't mean that he couldn't stop to take it in every once in a while. After all, he'd lived for over a century and there were still times he found himself struck by the beauty of the sunrise. Why should she be any different?

She was standing by the window, looking out, probably over the village. The sunlight hit her but didn't overwhelm her, simply highlighting the dips and curves of her face and body. The breeze blew through her hair but only lifted a few delicate strands. Soft fingers against the rough stone of the sill…the sigh she let out was not one of dread or irritation, merely…wistful. She was a beautiful creature, wasn't she?

His foot broke the spell the moment that he shifted his weight and the stair beneath him creaked a bit. If he'd known that would have happened he never would have done it.

"Rumpelstiltskin!" she exclaimed quickly backing away from the window. "What uh…what, what can I do for you?"

Stuttering. He hadn't scared her, but she was surprised to find him there.

"Daydreaming when there are chores to be done?" he questioned, entering her temple as if he had just arrived and hadn't been staring at her for minutes before.

"I'm about to begin my chores. I had a bit of time and I was just looking for a place to put my new book."

Finally! The opening he'd been waiting for!

"Ah…you've finished it already then?" he questioned, trying to make it sound as offhand as possible.

"Twice," she nodded. "It's not difficult when there is very little to do."

He could tell that she hadn't meant to inflict guilt upon him just by the way she'd given a small gasp. But he still felt the words. Very little to do…because she'd done it already, all but a few of the jobs he'd given her because he hadn't let her yet. He didn't want to do this, but he was beginning to notice that she was only happy when she was busy. He had to make her busy again.

"Was…was there something else you needed or…or wanted?"

"No, well-yes…I had hoped…"

Hoped…what did he hope? He knew why he'd come up here, he knew what he needed to do, he just didn't know where to start or how to do it. Giving her a book was one thing, a library another, but this…this was something altogether different.

"Perhaps you could explain to me what it is you find some fascinating about the valley village that warrants your sudden interest in paying it a visit!" he snapped, glancing to the window she'd been looking out of. "I can assure you I've never found anything special about it. It's exactly the same as the rest of them. You see one small village, you've seen them all."

"Well, maybe that's just the thing," she sighed, taking a seat in the chair by the fire. "I've never seen one. In my father's palace, everything was done for me. Laundry, shopping, cooking, I never got to experience any of it until you brought me here! Now that I have…I just think it would be nice to go and pick up my own potatoes or fish for once! See what a market is like."

"You're not missing much."

"But I am missing something."

Smart woman. Not missing much did in fact imply there was something to it, but the fault was his. He'd been to a market when he was human, gone every day, week after week, month after month, year after year! He'd been glad when he didn't have to endure it anymore. He supposed he could see how a girl who'd been kept secluded in her father's castle most of her life would want to experience it, but at the same time, he couldn't fathom it. Of all the things she could ask him for, this was what she wanted?

"I just don't understand! For all the grand adventures you read, why would a prisoner dream of a simple village to escape to when they could go anywhere in the realm?! There are far more interesting places to hide in. It's very confusing!"

"I'm no prisoner," she stated very matter of factly. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows at her, surprised by her answer. He had barely been aware that he'd used that word. Of everything that he'd said that was what she chose to challenge? To correct? "Prisoners are held against their will. I came with you willingly, and I'm not looking to escape now. I'm not looking to leave or run away or even get kidnapped again. I'm just looking to…take care the castle for you! To do my job! To plan meals, to go shopping, everything that a normal caretaker might do!"

Odd, she didn't think of herself as a prisoner. Even despite the fact that he was around?

"And the temptation to send a message to your family? Or to meet a handsome young knight to come in the dark of the night and rid the world of your beastly captor?!" he questioned, flourishing his hands as some less than powerful prince might for her.

"I have never had, nor do I imagine I ever will, have an interest in befriending a knight," she stated clearly and slowly for him. "And as for my family…I already told you. I've never been to a village before. I don't know how to send a message to them, and I wouldn't even if I could. Fish, potatoes, beets, some flour for a cake; all I want is to be able to sit down once a week and plan meals out so that I don't have to waste time thinking of something new every day that matches the ingredients your magic gives me! It'll save us both time and energy."

Heaven help him, she had a point. And there was an honesty to her tone and even in her heartbeat that told him she was telling the truth. She didn't want to meet a knight, she didn't want to send her family a message, she just wanted to do the damn, boring shopping. She wanted to be a caretaker, exactly what he'd brought her to be, not just a maid.

Fuck.

"Very well," he sighed before waving a hand over her so that the cloak he'd given to her before the winter hit was hung over her shoulders. She stood up the moment it happened and looked herself up and down as if searching for something on it, but she wouldn't find what she was looking for because what she needed was still in his hand. He knew it was a dangerous thing to touch her himself, but considering what he was about to allow, considering the fact that this magic couldn't go wrong, he wanted to make sure everything fit properly.

"This doesn't mean you get to visit the town," he pointed out quickly. "The market is at the entrance, inviting for wayward travelers that don't wish to go out of their way to spend a bit of their gold. Getting there and returning will take most of the day from here, it may seem like time to run before I'd notice you were gone but this fastener…"

He held the intricate metal design up for her to see so that she'd know what it was without a doubt. Technically he'd used it with her before, when they'd gone on their trip to hunt down Robin Hood and he'd had no trust in whether or not she would attempt to run away from him. Then he'd used it as a threat, to let her know that he could find her if she ran away. Now he wanted her to know it was there, just in case anyone tried to take her away again or in case she got hurt and needed him, then he would know where she was, he'd be able to find her and bring her home.

"It has a tracking spell on it, whenever you leave the premises with this cloak on, you'll wear this clasp, and it won't matter where you go…I shall know about it! Once a week, to the market and no further, then back again by nightfall. I'll collect the fastener for safe keeping when you've returned tonight. And if you need anything, anything, while you're away, simply say my name three times. I'll find you."

Her jaw dropped at his words and she stood perfectly still as she stared at him, not even breathing, it seemed. For a moment, he thought that he might have accidently used magic to freeze the room and her. And then, all of a sudden and without warning, she took a step forward and threw her arms around his neck.

Again.

The world seemed to freeze all over again as his body felt hot. Every place that she touched him he could feel it so palpably. He was almost proud of himself. He didn't feel tense like he had when she'd first hugged him what felt like a lifetime ago, but he also didn't touch her. As much as he wanted to, as much as he wanted to put his hands back at her waist and see if she'd be as comfortable with his arms as he was with her own he managed to hold himself back. He didn't need to touch her, or turn his head and smell her hair...

An embrace meant that she was happy again. That was what mattered. She was happy…wasn't she?

As if she could read his mind, a second later, she pulled back and as he examined her for signs of happiness she broke into a wide victorious smile. It was a smile well won, and yet he couldn't bear to think of it as a game. His heart began to race as she stared at him and bit her lip. How could someone so innocently beautiful, manage to be that sexy without even trying?

Sexy…had he really just thought that? Of her?

What magic did she possess? It was stronger than anything he'd ever encountered.

"I have to go make a list," she finally exclaimed, moving around him and toward the stairs. "I have to leave quickly, so I can be back before sundown. Oh! Money?"

Yes. Money. That necessary evil that didn't apply to him and never had in that village, not when he'd technically freed him from their King nearly a century ago. A little food was the least they could do to show their gratitude.

"My name will suffice to get you anything you need," he smiled at her as she nodded her head and began to fumble with the clasp just below her throat. It was only then that he realized he hadn't put the one she needed on yet. A stupid mistake. He'd made it so that she would be safe and then been so swept up in her touch that he'd forgotten to give it to her. To put it on her. To be sure, without doubt that she was safe. He needed to make sure…

With barely a breath, he stepped forward and replaced her fingers with his own. She didn't shudder as a woman might have at his touch, she didn't back away or act embarrassed. But her heart did race the moment she dropped her hands to let him work. In fact, damn...she lifted her chin and stuck her chest out a little as if it would grant him easier access. He could feel the blood at the pulse in her neck. What must it be like to put his fingers there and feel her heartbeat with something more than magic?

She was quiet as he worked, her breathing even though he tried to ignore the rise and fall of her chest daring him to look in a very ungentlemanly way. He wouldn't give into such an urge. He could be a beast, but he would be a gentleman with her as well. If she felt safe here, with him, so safe that she felt no urge to find a knight or send a message to her family, then he wanted to keep it that way. He hadn't meant it to be, but she might have been the best deal he'd made in his life.

"Thank you, by the way," she muttered finally. He could feel her words in her throat as his knuckles brushed against her skin. He nearly rejoiced when he finally felt the fussy clasp snap into place. He needed to stop touching her. And he had an odd feeling that she needed it too. "For my book!" she exclaimed too loudly as his hands fell away. "I loved it, and…it really was a wonderful surprise. Thank you!"

Fortunately for him, she left the room before he could tell her that she was more than welcome, leaving behind the heat of her skin on his fingers.

So, for people who are not Moments readers or people who never read the comic "Truth and Daggers" and have no idea what I was talking about in the last chapter when I said I needed to add a few "set-up chapters"... This chapter (and the last) exist because at the end of Skin Deep, when Rumple tells Belle he wants her to go to town, she's surprised. She's shocked! And the comments that she makes about him trusting her in town make it seem like she's never been to the town before. However, when "Truth and Daggers" came out (and A&E have declared the comics to be canon so I can't do anything about that) we learned that Belle does regularly go to the market in town for food with the special clasp that you saw in this chapter. It's an important part of the story, just like her comments later on are important to the story. So, I figured out a way to make it work. "But Treatian, how on earth will you ever explain what she says in 1x12 later?!" Fear not, those answers are coming up very soon.

Thank you Grace5231973, Jennifer Baratta, and Alarda for your comments on the last chapter. As promised this one is also super Rumbelley too. I hope you'll like it all as much as I do! (Have I mentioned how much I love these chapters?) I love how awkward and yet sure of himself he is here. I loved getting to write all those different parts of loving a person started to come together and really play on each other in chapters like this. Take it all in, enjoy it, because Lord knows that it'll all end really very soon. Peace and Happy Reading!