Belle woke early in the morning practically face down in her pillow; she'd got a habit of rolling around in her sleep. She couldn't quite decide if it was the nerves or the tweeting of birds out in the trees that had woken her, maybe a bit of both, Belle didn't know. What she knew for sure though was that she needed to take a shower and get dressed. Do I even own anything appropriate for here? Yes, she could find something she assured herself as she sat herself up and brushed away the last of sleep from her stunning eyes.

She hopped out of bed and grabbed her toiletries bag quickly then went to one of the off camera bathrooms – the smaller one opposite the back staircase – and showered. Warm steam filled the room and prepared her for the day. Belle washed her skin lightly as she saw the white, almond scented, lava slip down her body and onto the shower floor where it was washed away. All her worries seemed to slip away into an illusion as the steam worked her pores open. Pure water permeated through her hair darkening it to blackness and made her head heavy, not that she minded much. It felt as if the water guided her head back to let all her concerns roll off her and down the plug hole. How could a simple shower be so freeing? Just another question Belle no longer cared about. The shower eventually had to end though and Belle wrapped herself in a fluffy towel to dry off, her auburn hair bounced back into loose curled like it hadn't ever been wet.

As Belle made her way back along the halls to her room she could have sworn she caught a glimpse of, who she assumed, was the mysterious Mister Gold as he rounded a corner in 'the boy's wing'. The man had been in a jet black suit with dark-hair that brushed his shoulders so it had to have been him. She'd almost wanted to follow and introduce herself until Belle realized that greeting her boss in nothing but a towel early in the morning was probably not the best idea. Instead of perusing him Belle padded barefoot back into her nice warm room where she flung open her closet in search of something suitable for The House Of Scarlet and tried to push Mister Gold from her mind. It took her a while of debate and several moments of tapping her foot with her arms folded across her chest but eventually the auburn-haired beauty found something she liked. Out came her high-waisted bubble skirt that she adored so much, when she'd first bought the azure skirt she'd wondered if it was too short but that wasn't something that mattered now. A white blouse followed the skirt out Belle's new closet and then a jet black halter-neck waistcoat with little gold buttons.

She was immensely glad the camera in her room hadn't been turned on yet because she wasn't quite ready to be watched as she tried to dress. Belle paused when she got to the white blouse and looked at it a moment, there wasn't anything special about it since it was just a regular blouse but somehow the fabric seemed wrong. In a sudden fit of what would Lacey do, she set it aside and instead only donned the little waistcoat. It was warm enough in the house to forgo the blouse and this could be her first step towards that extra confidence she'd wanted; dipping her toe as it were. Belle had to start somewhere after all.

She slipped over to the vanity and lined her eyes in subtly black liner that she paired with peach lipstick which matched her nails. The beauty combed through her hair and decided to let it hang loose and caress her naked shoulders, a silly way of adding an extra layer to her skin without actually doing so. Only one thing remained so Belle made her way back over to the closet and pulled out a pair of black killer heels with a thin ankle strap that crossed over the front of her foot and had a tiny gold buckle holding them in place. Belle was pleased to have some hight back, the converse the day before had made her feel so small around Ruby and the others, she'd always been a bit sensitive about her height but if confidence was going to start anywhere it was with her shoes.

With a deep and calming breath she left her room and made her way casually downstairs, as she took the first step she saw Victor appear at the bottom, he smiled and Belle returned it as she approached him. That man could just pop up out of nowhere when he wanted to it seemed.

"Lacey, just the girl I needed to see." He said with a smile. "I was actually just coming to look for you."

"Well, here I am." It amazed Belle at just how comfortable she was with the blond doctor despite only having met him the night previous. "What do you need?"

"Gold asks that all the new girls have an exam before they go to work." He told her as she descended the back staircase. "Just to make sure you're healthy and all that."

Victor spoke politely but Belle was smart enough to read between the lines, I need to make sure you don't have any STD's or STI's was what he really meant. Belle couldn't blame him or Gold though, not really, it was the sort of thing they needed to know about in case any law suit suddenly popped up or something along those lines.

She nodded. "Sure, Victor. Anything you need."

Belle knew he was innocently doing his job but Belle was only just out of being a virgin. Not that anything she and Gaston had done could be considered sex, it was more like thirty seconds of depression she regretted. Still she followed Victor around the stairs to the first door on their left. Her brow furrowed deeply when she saw a corridor she'd not been shown on her tour yesterday; How bid is this place? She knew the door on her right went to the garage but she'd not got the first clue where the tiny hallway lead. Victor must have been a mind reader because he suddenly spoke.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to the size and the layout of the house. It's just the side door and Security's break room down there, Gold wanted to keep them out of the way of the cameras as much as possible."

With that Doctor Whale opened the door to his office and let Belle go ahead of him like a perfect gentleman. The room had been painted a dark gray and held a small desk at an angle over to the right of the room while the rest seemed full of filing cabinets. There was a large window in the middle of the far wall just like in most of the rooms and Belle wondered for a moment why there was no blind, wouldn't kill to have some privacy at least while a doctor was looking at her. That was answered a few seconds later though when Victor walked over to the door on their left and pushed it open to reveal his exam room. Once more she questioned the window but ground to a halt when it suddenly turned opaque. Belle smiled, this was smart glass! Belle hadn't ever seen it in person before, just on television when someone was having a conference. With the window frosted Belle felt a lot more comfortable being there for an exam.

"Just hop up on the table for me, would you?" Belle did as asked and Victor spoke next as he started his exam. "I know this wasn't how you wanted to spend your morning-"

"It's alright." She cut him off in a soft tone.

It was strange to have a man she'd only just met giving her a medical exam of her most private parts, I work for a porn website now. I don't think any of me is private any longer. Victor was kind and made no sudden moves, he was probably used to new girls being nervous or maybe he just had a naturally wonderful bedside manner. After a short while he folded her azure skirt back down and helped Belle off the table; which wasn't easy in such high heels.

"Well, you look to be in perfect working order." He chuckled as he took off his gloves. "All I need you to do now is fill this in."

He handed her a sheet of paper and a pen on a clipboard and gave her time to fill it out. It was the standard questions, do you have any allergies? Any mental or physical disorders? Is there any history of Asthma in your family? Just the usual and Belle filled it out a lot faster than she thought she would. Blue eyes made sure to check she hadn't gotten anything wrong before Belle handed it back to the blond doctor.

"Is that it? It didn't seem too drastic."

"I'll take that as a complement." He shot her a cocky grin that seemed to be his factory setting. "But yeah, that is everything for now. Gold asks that you have check ups on a monthly basis. It's more to take care of you and make sure you're healthy than anything else." Belle knew he spoke the truth. "If you have any other problems though, just come to me. I live here so, you know, I'm always around."

"Thank you, Victor."

Whale shrugged. "It's what I'm here for."

~X~

The hour had grown late when the girls decided it was dinner time, Ruby and Ariel had all but demanded Chinese food and so Belle found herself sat on the floor around a huge glass coffee table in the living room with all the other girls munching away happily and chatting about everything and anything.

Cruella was, however, still absent and if not for seeing her name on the website Belle would have believed she'd never existed. Tamara had simply taken her food and stormed off to her room, what was her problem? Jefferson and Victor had gone out for dinner and Gold had not emerged from his office since Belle arrived, maybe he's avoiding me she thought with a smile, but really what reason would he have for that?

The red clad woman and Ashley had flanked Belle, it was rather peaceful; she genuinely had been made to feel welcome.

" … when I found out how much I could make here I just dropped out of university, didn't see the point." Ariel shrugged and took another bite of her Lo Mein.

"You dropped out, I took the job to get in." Began Ruby before pausing to take a sip of beer. "Jefferson found me in Reno."

"As a stripper?" Belle asked without her mind giving her permission to do so.

"Nah, as a seriously underpaid waitress."

They all laughed and Belle thanked any and all Gods that Ruby hadn't taken offence to her blurted comment. When the chortling died down Aurora shared her own story. That was when Belle realized this was a sort of ritual they had for the new House Girls.

"Jefferson found me right here in the city, I studied fashion history and thanks to Gold and being here I actually got a degree."

Belle felt a new wave of relief drift over her knowing that Aurora had actually gotten to finish university, it gave Belle the knowledge that she would certainly get her own degree; that was the goal after all. When her mind came back to the room around her Tink had started speaking, hearing the stories really had helped Belle and they'd only just started.

"My go? My life really sucked, I worked in a coffee shop in Phoenix and Jefferson just slipped me his card when he paid." The blonde smiled at the memory. "Read the card, got curious and a week later I was here. Best decision I ever made to be honest with you."

Jefferson had selected these girls by hand from all over the country and Belle could see Jefferson had made sure the house had a wide range of personalities; the outgoing, the lesbians, the innocent, the high roller, the cheerful and, yes, the bad girls. What was Belle to be she wondered, or more correctly who was Lacey to be?

"Jefferson just came across you all? Like fate?" Belle's brow furrowed a little in puzzlement.

"Jefferson didn't find me." Baby pipped up as she finishing her beer – that she shouldn't have been drinking – and helped herself to a spring roll. "Gold did. My Step-Mom kicked me out. Didn't know what I was going to do and then it started snowing and I thought I was dead. Gold found me as he left an antiques store, fell over me is more like it." Everyone smiled like they knew something Belle didn't. "He fed me and told me I could stay here, he didn't want me to work for him, just be out of the snow. After the second night I went to his office and told him I wanted to work for him, that was three years ago now."

"You were sixteen?"

Belle was shocked, after all the good she'd heard of Mister Gold, sixteen was far too young for such a website.

"What?! No, he wouldn't let me start working for him until I turned eighteen," Ashley amended quickly, "said I had to take baby steps, that's how I chose my name. The rest of the time I was here I worked as his assistant. I think he wanted me to make sure I was certain."

Belle's heart relaxed again and she found herself growing ever increasingly more curious about the extraordinary Mister Gold. Most people probably heard 'middle-aged man who runs a porn site' and made their judgements, frankly Belle had done the same at first but she'd grown to see there was so much more to him; damn, she hoped she got to meet him soon since her imagination had started to run away with her.

"What about you?" Asked Tink with a smile and sparkling eyes.

Belle paused a moment, unsure how much she wanted to tell them, did she really want these girls and whoever was watching on the living room cameras to know her father was a struggling florist with a gambling problem? No, no she didn't, but Belle didn't wish to lie to them either. In the end she settled for just the basics.

"Well, I study English literature and library science, but my Papa can't afford my tuition and his shop as well so here I am."

"And your Mother?" Questioned Aurora as she took a bite of her noodles.

The auburn-haired Australian paled a moment but managed to recover quickly.

"She died when I was nine." Belle's tone hung heavy with sorrow.

After so long Belle still hurt mentioning her Mama. She supposed it always would, she could move on and continue with her life but the pain wouldn't ever truly be gone.

"I'm sorry, I know what that's like."

Surprisingly it was Mulan who spoke, Belle had thought she was the reserved and almost solider-like one but in that single sentence Belle learnt that yes, Mulan was both those things but she also had a heart, and that knowledge brought a half smile to Belle's cherry glossed lips. She'd half worried that all the girls would be like Tamara and Cruella but instead she'd found a group of young women who weren't only welcoming but happy to be her friend.

"Alright, that's enough sad talk I think it's time to get naked."

Belle's blue-eyes snapped up to Ruby but she seemed to be the only one shocked by the sudden comment, the others had obviously gotten used to it. The girls wished her luck with her show – not that a woman as stunning as Ruby would need luck – and let her head off up to her bedroom for her show.

For the rest of dinner they chatted and laughed. Belle had expected them to play things up for the cameras and while, yes, they did occasionally pose questions to the viewers and had a laptop sat so they could answer any message the members sent there hadn't been any … performing. In truth the whole atmosphere had been fairly relaxing.

~X~

A few hours later Belle found herself in nothing but her black underwear and a sky blue shirt sat before her laptop, The House Of Scarlet website set up and proud on the screen. Her room's camera hadn't been turned yet but Belle could see the name she'd chosen neatly listed with the others on the site's home page. Curiously she clicked on her name expecting to find some sort of coming soon page but instead she was surprised to discover her webcam active. Jefferson had brought her the laptop late on before she'd gone to bed the previous day and let her know that Gold made sure all the girls had a work laptop instead of using their personal ones; smart, further prevented hacking and provided them a sense of privacy. However, it appeared this one was already up and running, she'd been on camera since she'd opened the lid. Jefferson probably should have mentioned that.

Suddenly she realized she sat there in her underwear and a shirt, her very first instinct was to slam the lid shut and pull her shirt tighter around her but the twenty-one year old forced that instinct away. She couldn't go shying away from this; it was her job. Belle took a calming breath and readied herself. Do the brave thing and bravery will follow, she told herself before letting the blue shirt slip down her shoulders seductively and turned on the chat box.

"Okay boys, here I am."

Belle tried to sound brave though it didn't reach her eyes, let alone to her heart. She'd been just about to loose her nerve when a squeak caught her attention, she glanced up to see Ruby, Ashley and Ariel stood supportively outside her door; seemed they'd noticed her webcam was on as well or at least had noticed that she'd noticed. Ashley mouthed 'you can do it' before Belle tuned her attention back to the laptop with a smile and a renewed sense of confidence. The auburn-haired goddess tried to keep calm but her nerves shivered through her body to her very soul despite the new confidence that surged through her. Seconds later Belle heard Ariel shoo the other two girls away back to their rooms and shut the door behind them. Belle was thankful to somewhat lessen the audience she had. Belle, no Lacey sat there for a while waiting and forcing her nerves away until suddenly there was ping after ping, a soft and gentle noise really but it seemed so loud in her silent room. Then another ping and another after that.

PRINCE: You must be the new girl.

JH1886: Show us what ya got rookie

DADDYDOM12: Lacey huh? That had better be because of your panties. Got any tricks for us, 'lil one?

Much to Belle's surprise she found herself chuckling, be brave Belle, be Lacey. With that she banished her nerves and worries and reminded herself what Ruby had told her earlier that day, It's just you and your screen, that's it.

"No tricks boys, but maybe a treat or two." She flashed them – what she hopped was – a charming smirk.

Once the very last of her doubt had been banished Belle-Lacey stood and clicked on some music before she moved to the foot of her bed, her hips swayed back and forth freely, completely unaware that throughout the house the girls were probably logged on to her room watching her very first impromptu show, just to see how she would do. Hell, Jefferson and Victor, who'd returned from their evening meal rather loudly, undoubtedly knew about this show by now and likely sat together, a laptop open so they could watch for the exact same reason the other girls were.

Unbeknownst to Belle that was exactly what the doctor and House Manager did. The couple sat naked in their bed after some fun of their own, Victor's back up against the headboard with his chest to Jefferson's back and his arms wound around the man he loved. Jefferson had sat his laptop on his outstretched legs so they could both see the second Ruby had sent him a message.

"I don't know Jeff," started Victor a little hesitantly as he pressed kisses to his husband's neck, "she seems a little stiff."

"Giver her a minute, it's her first time. She's not even on the clock technically. She's not signed her contract with Gold yet."

Jefferson looked over to the camera viewers list and was pleased to find Lacey's webcam at ninety percent and rising. Lacey hadn't even started and she'd already become a hit.

PRINCE: I'm not here to see your shoulders sweetheart

Typed one viewer when Lacey after a full three minutes of dancing she'd not made any attempt to take the shirt off properly. Lacey shot a look at the camera to read the comment. Much to Jefferson's surprise and pleasure she didn't seem effected by the user's comment.

"Oh yeah, are you here for this?"

Be Lacey, you can do this. She turned and bent herself teasingly over her bed giving the camera a perfect view of her black lace covered bottom. There was no ping and so Belle wondered if that was because no one had a hand free to type with, yes being Lacey was starting to work for her, or if she'd not done anything all that interesting for them. Lacey turned back to the camera; because right now she needed to be Lacey.

"Or maybe these?"With that she quickly unbuttoned the rest of her shirt and let it fall to the ground to show off her black lace bra.

Belle had no idea just how many eyes could on her; bankers in Atlanta, bar owners from Dallas, producers in Los Angeles were just the iceberg for her imagination. The House Of Scarlet's reach was global, and monumentally profitable, it wasn't just men in basements.

Lacey lost track as her show went on, just me and the camera, that was all. After a while she actually found herself enjoying it, in a way it was freeing, fun even. When she finally finished Belle blew a kiss to her webcam with a naughty grin before she bid the viewers a good evening and went to pick up her shirt. The twenty-one year old took a breath to calm herself, she'd done it!

Just as Belle slipped her bra back on Ruby burst through the door with a bold grin on her face.

"I am so proud of you, you were awesome!"

Belle grinned, she'd suspected every one in the house had been watching her. She'd not signed a contract yet so Belle suspected she probably shouldn't have been doing a show but it hadn't been for Gold's business, it had been for Belle; to prove to herself she really could be Lacey.

Suddenly there was another ping from the laptop and Ruby looked over to the golden box filled with black writing in the left hand side of the screen.

SHERIFFOFNOTTINGHAM: Hi Lacey.

"Oh that's the Sheriff," began Ruby with a red smile, "he's always on here, a real sweetheart. Why don't you say hi."

Belle did as Ruby suggested, sat herself before the webcam and spoke in a silky tone.

"Sorry Sheriff, you just missed the show. I'll be back tomorrow though."

SHERIFFOFNOTTINGHAM: Promise?

Belle smiled softly at the camera, she'd have signed her contract by the end of tomorrow and then it would be her job to perform for these cameras. She'd be back the next day, Belle had no doubt. Also, if this guy was already hoping for another show she'd clearly done something right.

"Yeah, I promise."

SHERIFFOFNOTTINGHAM: 3PM?

"That sounds great, I'll be sure to look out for you. And anyone who sounds like they're from a fairytale is alright in my book."

Belle blew him a kiss and then shut the lid of her laptop, a promise made. Belle was pleased with her first show but she had no idea that just a few miles away a dark haired-man with yellowed eyes from years of nicotine abuse and God only knew what else sat in the dark. He re-winded to Lacey blowing him a kiss where he paused it and quickly printed the picture. He held it in his hands and pressed a kiss to the newly inked page.

~X~

Belle awoke in the very early hours of the next morning when everything was still dark and quiet. Her eyes took a a few moments to adjust and a moment longer to realize what had woken her from her cosy slumber. Panting and moans, that was what had pulled Belle from her slumber. She didn't know why but before she knew it Belle had reached over and grabbed her laptop from the night stand and opened the lid. It only took two clicks to find the cause was Aurora and Mulan, in Mulan's room at the end of the hall; it seemed Aurora could be rather vocal. Belle smiled softly then shut the lid so she could return herself to sleep completely unaware that a certain Sheriff had continued to watch Belle during her dreams.

Meanwhile the stars hung in the sky and Will Scarlet had fallen asleep in the security centre by the front gate, he hadn't meant to but he'd just not been able to keep his eyes open; Graham and Robin would probably kill him when they came back from their rounds.

Silently the front gate slipped open and a black figure passed slowly through it so as not to wake the Englishman, it took less then twenty seconds for the black figure to get to the front door, where it peered through the large window to reveal Ashley making a smoothie in the kitchen, the teenager was just visible through the archway that connected the living room and the kitchen. The shadow didn't say a word, just returned to the front door and punch in the door code: 683752. Seconds later the black figure slipped into the house and closed the door behind them. The figure moved silently through the house into the kitchen.

Ashley hadn't been the only one in the kitchen Ruby and Tink had sat themselves at the breakfast bar with a plate of cookies while the blond teenager finished her smoothie. Ashley hummed to herself as she poured the pink smoothie into a glass and took a long sip of cool, refreshing liquid; by the looks of her she'd been in the gym not long before, all three girls had. A second later she turned and screamed at the top of her lungs, the glass fell from her hand onto the ground where it smashed every, sharp splats of pink smoothie branched out away from her like a spider's web.

"Wick, you scared the crap out of me!" Ashley yelled as Ruby and Tink spun around to see the elder woman stood in the archway to the living room.

"Why are you here?" Ruby demanded in a deep tone as she folded her arms over her chest suspiciously.

"Look, I had nowhere else to go and I'm clean now so I can come back." Wick responded like it was simple.

"Yeah," Tink didn't sound convinced for a single second, "I doubt he will see it that way. Besides, you've already been replaced, Baby show her."

"What the fuck! By who?" Wick's tone was angry as she all but launched towards the ipad that Ashley held up with a smirk. There the elder woman saw young Belle from earlier that night when she'd done her impromptu show. "Bit plain don't you think?" Wick sneered.

"Believe me she's good, and way nicer than you, Wick." Said Ruby flatly.

"And not a heroin addict." Tink added before she bit into a cookie.

I'm not having this, thought Wick, I will not be replaced by some pathetic school girl. With her mind made up Wick turned towards the main kitchen camera and put on her best good girl act.

"Gold, you're watching, I know you are, you know everything that goes on in your house. I'll be good, I promise. I'm all better now too, please just one more chance." Wick pulled of her black top to reveal a simple but effective green bra. "You can't keep this from the audience can you?"

Mister Gold did indeed know everything that went on in his house; he knew about the forty year old bottle of bourbon Victor had hidden his cabinet of medical supplies, Gold knew about the time Ruby, Ariel and Ashley had all snuck into his bedroom to see if he'd just appear and yell at them, Gold knew everything. He sat in his office up on the second floor with dark-brown orbs focused on his laptop screen, he'd been watching via the kitchen camera had been ever since he heard Baby scream. Gold had been about to head off to bed but then Wick had come along to cause problems lie she always did. He flicking to the kitchen viewer count and quickly raised an eyebrow at the numbers he found. Gold knew this woman had been popular at The House of Scarlet for quite some time and it seemed she still was. He sighed as the count reached eighty percent and started to type in the private text box that only he, the girls, their doctor and Jefferson had access to. It seemed Zelena Green was back.

Back down in the vast kitchen the four girls heard a ping that echoed around the kitchen. Ashley sighed in annoyance before she read out what Gold had typed.

"He says you can stay sleep in the spare room next to Princess'." Another ping caused a smug smile to grow on Ashley's face. "For now."