Take me, cure me, kill me
Bring me home
Every day, every way I keep on watching us sleep
Relive the old sin of Adam and Eve
Of you and me
Forgive the adoring beast
Nightwish - Ghost Love Score
Lady Belle Lavalliere paced the floor of her chambers nervously, a book clutched tightly in her hands. It was a text on all the most powerful creatures in the known realms. She'd been reading the chapter on the most powerful of them, the Dark One. Legend said that he had successfully ended one of the ogre wars centuries earlier. Would he do so again? Her father and the other lords of the Frontlands were confident they could defeat the ogres with the might of their armies but now the rivers of their lands flowed red with the blood of their people. There was no other way. They had to summon the Dark One.
"It is out of the question!" Maurice barked when she made her proposal. "The Dark One is not to be trifled with."
"What choice do we have, Father?" Belle asked. "None. Our people are dying, our villages are being destroyed. The Dark One stopped the wars before. He can do so again. Please!"
"She may be right, my lord," her fiance Gaston Valmont agreed. Their betrothal had been arranged in the cradle but the pair had little in common. Gaston felt a woman's place was in a man's bed, bearing his children. Belle believed a woman could be as intelligent as a man do some of the same things a man could such as fight in battle. And they had...during the previous ogre war, the one the Dark One ended.
"All right," Maurice sighed. "I'll send a message. Gods help us all."
The ogres had returned to once again cut a swathe through towns and villages and men were being taken from their homes to fight on the front lines. It had been centuries since the Dark One walked into the middle of the battlefield, put an end to the previous war and led all the children home. His sight, inactive for so long was sending him strange visions again, this time of a beautiful young woman in a golden gown with blue eyes and long brown hair.
"It's nothing...just another vision that makes no sense," Rumple muttered as he awoke from his trance and went back to work at his spinning wheel yet he couldn't seem to accomplish anything. Frustrated, he got up and took a walk outside. When he reached the gate he was surprised to see a pigeon sitting there with a message tied around its leg. He conjured a pile of seeds for the bird to feast on while he read the message. Unlike people, animals never feared him. Along with many other abilities, the Dark One dagger had given him the ability to speak to them even if it was only through his mind.
They're desperate, the bird informed him as it ate.
Everyone who comes to me is.
Will you compose a reply?
No, I think I should deliver my answer in person. In the meantime you are welcome to stay as long as you'd like.
Thank you Rumplestiltskin.
He vanished in a puff of smoke.
It had been a week since they'd sent out their message via pigeon and still there was no reply. The people, terrified that the ogres would soon be marching on their town began to flee in fear. Even Maurice's own servants began fleeing in the middle of the night, taking some of the lord's own goods with them. General Lancelot came to the castle one afternoon with devastating news while he was sitting in the war room with Gaston, Belle and his top military commanders to plan strategy.
"Sir, there's news from the battlefront. Avonlea has fallen." he announced.
"Oh my gods," Maurice moaned. Avonlea was only a day's march from their own town.
"If only he had come," Gaston said.
"Well he didn't!" Maurice said angrily.
"He may be on his way right now, Papa," Belle said hopefully when she kneeled beside him.
"It's too late my girl. It's just too late."
Suddenly there was a loud banging on the doors.
"It's him! It has to be him!" she exclaimed.
"How could he have gotten past the walls? Open it!" Maurice commanded his guards. They opened the door but could see nothing out in the hallway.
"Well, that was a bit of a letdown!" Rumple giggled as he appeared in Maurice's chair. They all turned to face him even the girl he'd seen in his visions. Now he understood why. Summoning him had been her idea. A bold move, but admirable.
"You sent me a message. Something about...Help! Help! We're dying. Can you save us? Well the answer is...yes, I can.. Yes, I can protect your little town. For a price," Rumple said as he got out of the chair and tossed the object he was holding to one of the guards and smacked down the sword the foolish boy was pointing at him. Didn't the fop understand it couldn't harm him?
"We sent you a promise of gold," Maurice said.
"Ah now you see I ummm...make gold. What I want is something a bit more special. My price...is her." He gestured toward Belle, unsure why he was doing it but there was something about this girl that appealed to him.
"No!" Maurice cried.
"The young lady is engaged...to me." Gaston declared, shoving Belle behind him. Rumple scowled.
"I wasn't asking if she was engaged. I'm not looking for love. I'm looking for a caretaker...for my rather large estate. It's her or no deal," he said coldly.
"Get out. Leave!" Maurice shouted. Gaston continued to push Belle further away from him.
"As you wish."
"No, wait!" he heard the girl's voice cry out.
He turned around. Bravely the young woman stepped forward and faced him. "I will go with him." she declared.
"I forbid it Belle," Gaston commanded.
"No one decides my fate but me!" Belle argued. "I shall go."
"It's forever dearie," Rumple cautioned her, daring her to refuse him.
"My family, my friends...they will all live?" she asked.
"You have my word," he said.
"And you have mine. I will go with you, forever!"
"Deal!" he giggled
"Belle, Belle you cannot do this! Belle, please! You cannot go with this.. beast," Maurice pleaded.
Rumple looked at him in shock. Him a beast? Now that was gratitude for you!
"Father, Gaston. It's been decided." Belle reminded them.
"You know," Rumple said from behind her. "She's right. The deal is struck. Oh, congratulations on your little war!" he giggled, escorting the girl out of the castle where a carriage with no horses awaited them. She climbed in and sat on the seat across from him.
"You really do need a caretaker? I'm...I'm afraid I haven't much experience with it..." she said nervously.
"That's obvious," he said, gesturing toward her clothing. "You had servants to do it for you. Well, you'll be the only servant in my house dearie and my advice is that you learn how to do it, quickly."
"Yes...Master."
"Rumplestilskin," he corrected her. "I do not allow most people to know my name but you, dearie...are quite...different." he murmured and still he couldn't explain how. He sensed some form of magic surrounding the girl but whatever it was, it had some sort of cloak on it. It was best if she learned her place and quickly.
He led her through the hallways of the Dark Castle and into his main dining hall in silence. It was more of a showroom than a dining hall as there was only one chair at the large table.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked
"Let's call it...your room," he answered waving his hand and opening the door to the dungeon. She peeked inside, horrified. There was only a small pallet on the floor inside.
"My room?" she cried
"Well it sounds a lot nicer than dungeon," he teased and gently shoved her inside, locking the door and giggling mischieviously.
"You can't just leave me in here! Hello! Hello?" she shouted, pounding on the doors until her fists were sore. Exhausted she crawled onto the pallet and curled herself into a ball, sobbing softly. It was all for her family, she kept reminding herself.
She was uncertain how long she'd been in the dungeon when she heard the door open. She looked up and saw her new master standing in the doorway staring at her with oddest expression on his face. "Naptime's over, dearie. There's work to be done," he sang and waved his finger at her to follow him. She stood up, smoothed the wrinkles out of her gown and followed him up the stairs and into the kitchen. "Since you're not accustomed to doing these things yourself, the kitchen will assist you."
"What do you mean, assist me?" Belle asked.
"Magic, dearie, magic!" he declared with a flourish. "Prepare my tea," he called out. Doors opened and a tea service floated out onto the table. The large stove heated up and a tea kettle filled with water floated onto it. Once the kettle finished boiling it poured the water into a teapot and mixed with the leaves.
If the castle can do these things for him, why does he need me here? Is it just to humiliate me? she pondered.
"Bring that in to the dining room and I'll explain your duties." he instructed and left the kitchen. She nodded.
"You will serve me my meals and you will clean the Dark Castle," he explained once she walked into the dining room carrying the tea service.
"I understand," Belle said shakily as she poured the tea into one of the cups to serve to him.
"You will dust my collection and launder my clothing," he went on.
"Yes."
"You will fetch me fresh straw when I'm spinning at the wheel."
"Got it."
"Oh, and you will skin the children I hunt for their pelts." She cried out in horror and the cup she was about to hand him fell to the carpet. "That one was a quip. Not serious."
"Uhhh...right," "My. I'm so sorry but, uh... It's.. it's chipped. You—you can hardly see it." she insisted fearfully while he simply stared at her. What did the girl think he was going to do...beat her?
"It's just a cup," he said indifferently to put her mind at ease. She set the cup back back on the tray and poured him another cup of tea from a different cup then handed it to him. He sipped it in silence, wondering what sorts of stories the girl had been told about him.
Why does it even matter? It isn't as if she would ever come to care for you. She's here because of her family and friends, nothing more. You don't deserve to have anyone care for you. You're not worth caring about. Haven't you learned that by now. Everyone you love leaves you.
Belle slipped out of the dining room and took the tea service into the kitchen to be washed.
Speak your wishes, mistress and we will guide you she head a voice saying in her mind, sensing it was the kitchen itself speaking to her.
"I...I'm sorry...I really don't know what to do."
Listen and learn, young mistress.
She sat down at the table, listening as the kitchen explained that it and every room in the house was enchanted, not by Rumplestiltskin's magic but by the magic of his predecessor to obey any command given to them and they in turn would teach her how to command them so that it would make her own duties less difficult. Once nighttime came she was led back downstairs to the dungeon. That night as she had every night, she lay on her pallet weeping loudly, remembering everyone she left behind and how much she missed them. The door to the dungeon was thrust open and Rumple walked in, irritated.
"When you so eagerly agreed to come and work for me, I assumed you wouldn't miss your family quite so much!"
Belle stood up and glared at him. "I made my sacrifice for them. Of...of course I miss them, you beast!" she cried.
"Yes, yes, of course. But the crying must stop. Night after night! It's making it very difficult for me to spin. You know, I do my best thinking then!" He conjured a pillow. "Perhaps this'll help?"
She was stunned by the sudden gesture of kindness. "For me?"
"Not so beastly now am I," he grumbled and threw it at her to catch.
"Thank you. Maybe now I can actually get some sleep," she said sarcastically.
"No, no, no. It's not to help you sleep, dearie. It's to muffle the cries so I can get back to work!"
Upstairs they heard glass breaking. Rumple's blood boiled with fury. Who dared to invade his home and how had they gotten past the wards!? When they entered the dining hall Rumple spotted a cloaked figure taking the fairy godmother's wand from its stand.
"Are you sure you wanna do this, dearie?"
"Pretty sure," the thief answered.
"If you don't know how to use that wand, it can do nasty things to you."
"Well, then... I'll stick to what I know works. Do you know what this arrow can do to you?" he asked, loading an arrow into the bow.
"Has to hit me first." Rumple taunted and vanished to another spot in the room.
"Shouldn't be a problem. An arrow fired from this bow always finds its target. Don't you just love magic?"
He vanished again, The arrow whizzed through the air and buried itself in his chest.
"I know I do." the thief said confidently
"As do I! But don't you know? All magic comes with a price! And in your case, that's me," Rumple said threateningly as he pulled the arrow out of his chest and giggled. He waved his hand and the thief found himself chained in another part of the dungeon, his hands raised above his head. "Now then, how did a simple thief obtain Artemis's bow?" Rumple asked as he conjured a chair and sat down.
"W...What?"
"Only one bow like that is in existence. I've been trying to accquire it myself as part of my collection yet I couldn't seem to locate it and you have. And you're going to tell me how...and what you need that wand for. Who are you?"
He's the last Strogoff...he has to be! a voice in his head warned. Get rid of him.
He's just a thief. A simple thief, nothing more. That wand can't harm you. Only the dagger can...or Aramon's Talisman.
Fool. He'll use the wand to find it. Destroy him!
"I just need magic...you wouldn't understand."
"FOR WHAT!" Rumple shouted.
The thief stayed silent, much to his frustration. Rumple stood up and glared at him. "You won't kill me, Strogoff. If you could, you would've done it already but you seem to be missing the one weapon that would allow you to do the job, the talisman. Now, where are they?!"
"I don't know what you're talking about!" the thief insisted.
"Don't lie to me!"
They argued back and forth for hours, the thief denying any knowledge of the talisman or the emerald. Frustrated, Rumple picked up his old walking stick and shook it in front of the man's face. "You will not stop me from finding my son, do you understand me!?" he hissed. "I'll see you in hell first! You can think about that while you rot in here!" he added and vanished.
Belle was sweeping the hall when he appeared in the dining room. "Take our guest something to eat. I need to make a trip to the village."
Once he was gone Belle hurried down to the dungeon with the keys to the shackles and started unlocking them.
"What? Did he send you to finish the job?" he asked her.
"Uh-no, no. Not at all. Here, drink this. I couldn't let this continue, it's inhuman, being chained in a dungeon." she said as she handed him a cup of water.
"I-I couldn't agree more. But I fear now he'll turn his wrath on you."
"If he does, I'll stand up to the beast that he is, because no one... no one deserves to be tortured."
"Well, he may beg to differ."
"Well, I don't care. He doesn't frighten me. Hurry up. He'll be back soon. Hurry."
"But he will...he will kill you. Unless...unless you run away with me."
"I can't run. I made a deal to serve him, in exchange for him protecting my kingdom and my family from the ogres If I were to leave, I might survive, but my family surely won't."
"All I can do is wish you luck."
"Thank you. Now go. Go!"
She returned to the dining room and settled down to read a book, unaware that her master had returned until she heard him shouting her name as he came up the stairs.
"Where is he?" he demanded.
"Gone. I let him go," she answered.
"What? He was a thief." he exclaimed.
"Which doesn't give you the right to cage him up like an animal," she argued.
"It gives me every right!" he raged. "Ohhhh let me guess: you think he's a hero, stealing from me for some noble cause. You read too many books, dearie! There, maybe that'll stop filling your head with poisonous thoughts!" he yelled, waving his hand and making her book vanish.
"I didn't free him because of what I read in my books. I saw good in him. That man only wanted to escape with his life."
"Oh, is that what you thought? Our thief escaped with more than his life," he said, showing her the empty holder where the wand once rested. "You were tricked, you foolish, gullible girl!"
"There must be some explanation. We don't know why he wanted the wand!"
"He took the wand because he wanted magic! People who steal magic never have good intentions!" he cried storming over to the table and leaning on it as fear gripped him. The thief was loose, he had the wand and would find some means to destroy him before he had the chance to find Bae. He couldn't let it happen.
"No, no! You can't tell what's in a person's heart until you truly know them!" Belle insisted, wondering if she was still referring to the thief or her master.
"Oh we'll see what its in his heart...when I shoot an arrow straight through it! Because I am a showman, it'll be with his bow," he said and conjured the bow. "And because this is your fault get to come with me and watch, knowing that as the blood drips from his carcass, it'll be you and your rags to wipe it up!" he raged.
They took the carriage into the forest. "I'm losing track of him. This forest is too thick," he complained.
Belle smiled. "Maybe we should return home."
"And let the thief escape? What would people think if I spared the life of someone who stole from me?"
"That there's actually a man hiding behind the beast."
"There isn't."
"Then why didn't you kill me when I freed the prisoner?" she interrogated.
"Well, I would have but good help these days is very hard to find."
"I think you are not as dark as you'd like people to believe. I think deep down there's love in your heart and for something more than power."
"You're right. There is something I love," he said as he leaned down to look at her. My son. "My things!" he sang, making her jump back. She glared at him.
"You really are as dark as people say!"
"Darker dearie, much darker," he said and brought the carriage to a stop. There was a group of horsemen waiting for them. The leader dismounted holding a whiskey flash in his hand. As Rumple approached he could smell the alcohol on the man's breath.
"What are you doing in my woods?" the man asked drunkenly. He was the Sheriff of Nottingham.
"Pardon the intrusion Sheriff. I'm looking for a theif. He attacked me with his bow. I tracked him as far as these woods and then he vanished.
"Yes, I know exactly who you're after," the sheriff said as he studied the bow. "I also know who you are...Rumplestiltskin." He then proceeded to offer to give Rumple information about the theif in exchange for Belle. Rumple was outraged. He dared to call her a wench? He would give the drunk a lesson in manners he wouldn't soon forget.
Filthy drunken wretch, Rumple thought angrily, flicking his wrist and casting a spell to remove the man's vile tongue before he could say anything more disgusting to the girl. Even he in his darkest moment would never dare to speak about a woman in such a abhorring manner. Once he was convinced the drunk had gotten the message, he gave him his tongue back and headed into Sherwood Forest in search of the thief, Belle pleading with him with him to stop as he aimed the bow at the man he know knew as Robin Hood. Seeing the thief's companion with child stayed his hand as did Belle's passionate pleas that there was good in the thief as there was good in him, something he no longer believed anymore. Lies, all of it. He waved his hand, burying the girl to her waist in the ground.
"You are not the kind of man to leave a child fatherless!" she cried.
But he had. His own. Could he bring himself to repeat his own mistake with someone else's child? He raised the bow and took his shot as Belle yelled out, the arrow burying itself in a chest on the wagon per his direction. The lovers, now knowing someone was after them fled into the woods.
"What happened?" she asked.
"I missed," he muttered and waved his hand again to remove her from her trap. "Get back to the carraige. I'm bored of this forest."
"You're...you're not going after him?"
"He's not worth the efforts."
"You spared his life."
"What? I did nothing of the sort," he denied as he turned his back to her.
"That bow has magic in it. It never misses its target," she reminded him.
"Well perhaps the magic simply wore...off..." he said as he turned around and caught her her looking up at him with those wide blue eyes. Then she did something that threw him completely off guard...throw her arms around him. He couldn't even remember the last time someone dared to take such liberties with him. Only certain people had ever been allowed to. She'd only held onto him for a few seconds yet it felt like it lasted much longer to him.
"Aren't you coming?" she inquired softly. He retrieved the bow and followed her back to the carriage, a small smile on his lips, the ride back to the castle much more pleasant as she seemed pleased with him. "Looks like you won;t be needing that bow anymore," she said
"Actually I think I'll hold onto it," he said as he draped it over the back of his chair. "You never know. It could come in handy someday."
"Well, if you don't need me for anything else...goodnight, Rumplestiltskin."
"No, wait. There is something else," he said, wringing his hands nervously as he escorted up the stairs to his library. He'd collected so many books over the centuries and was certain she would enjoy reading them as much as he did. "Temper your exictement dearie. This is merely another room for you to clean."
"It's...it's beautiful. There's more books here than I could ever read in a lifetime," she exclaimed and picked one up.
"Well I hope you can clean faster than you can read."
"Did you do all of this for me?"
"I'd better not see a single speck of dust gathering on any of these books! What are you smiling at?" he demanded.
She approached him slowly and took his hand in hers. "You're not who I thought you were...and I'm glad," she said softly, her touch oddly comforting.
Stop it, you fool! She's just grateful, that's all. Don't mistake it for anything more or you'll only be hurt again. No one can love a beast. Remember that!
"Welll...ummm...you'd best be getting to bed. Don't want to oversleep and get behind on your chores."
"Of course not. Goodnight, Rumplestiltskin."
"Goodnight...Belle."
One day while Belle was cleaning the west wing she discovered a closet with many beautiful items in it, just thrown in it. She'd gotten used to finding rooms like this all over the castle and started organizing them because the clutter attracted dirt piles and she disliked having to pick the clumps out of her broom. She heard footsteps and Rumplestiltskin was beside her.
"What is all that?" he asked her.
"You don't know?"
"No. I never had a reason to be in this room. Too cluttered," he quipped.
"There are so many beautiful things in here, Rumplestiltskin. Shouldn't they be on shelves instead of scattered all over the floor?"
"Ah. Perhaps you're right." He waved his hand and sets of wooden shelves lined the walls of the room. "Well then, this will be another room for you to clean. Keep this collection dusted and polished," he instructed.
"Oh, look! This cup has a chip in it like the other one," the girl said softly as she held the cup up for him to inspect. "Can we put it and the teapot downstairs with the others?"
"No...I prefer the other one. You can use them and the candleholder in your room if you wish."
"My room? The dungeon?"
He waved his hand and a box appeared in it. "Put those in there and I'll show you to your room. Unless you want to stay in the dungeon? Come along then dearie. Taking time away from your work," he said and giggled. The girl followed him down the hall. The double doors opened revealing an elegant bedroom.
"It...It's beautiful," she exclaimed as she threw her arms around him. "Thank you."
"You'll be expected to keep this room clean too, Belle," he said wondering why she insisted on hugging him so much as of late. It was...unnerving to say the least.
"Oh I know but I'm thankful nonetheless." She opened the box and set the candleholder, teapot and chipped cup on the stand beside her bed then walked over to the closet and found it full of clothes, just the right size. The skirts were shorter, making it easier to get around the house and do her chores. She loved her gold dress but it was impossible to clean in.
"What are you doing?" Belle inquired one afternoon watching Rumplestiltskin in the middle of the ballroom with an odd looking stick in his hand, hitting small balls into holes he made all over the room. He swung the stick and struck another ball, hissing in frustration when he missed a hole due to Belle's foot being in the way.
"You're standing on my next hole, dearie," he scolded.
"This is how you make use of a ballroom, conjuring little holes you can hit balls into with a stick?" she asked.
"Well it's not like I'd be hosting a party," he said sarcastically. "No, people only come to me when they need something and they're not likely to stay to dance. Now, if you would move your foot, I'd like to finish my game."
"I've never seen a game like this before. What is it called?"
"I don't know...I just know I like it," he said. "And you...should be working," he sang, wagging his finger at her. "Castle's not gonna clean itself, dearie."
"I've finished all my work on this floor," she said. "Can you show me how to play?"
Teach me. Don't just do it. Teach me.
"No!" he said sharply. "Get back to work!" he snapped. The last thing he needed now was another damned Cora in his life working her charms on him until she got what she wanted from him then abandoning him so she could make her future what she wanted it to be. He would never be fooled by another woman again. If there was manipulating to be done, he would be the one doing it.
"Good gods, did someone get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?"
He glared at her. Did she not realize that he could kill her where she stood? But, she was an excellent caretaker and good help was hard to find.
"Did you not hear me? Get back to work."
"Ooooh...you...you...beast!" she raged, spinning on her heel and storming out of the room.
"That is what I am dearie, and you'd be wise not to forget it!" he shouted after her retreating form. He heard a door slam in response and found himself giggling in spite of himself. Why was it that he found her displays of rage so appealing? He turned around and was getting ready to make another shot when the stick was snatched out of his hand. He turned around and saw her standing behind him.
"If you think you can break me Rumplestiltskin, you've got another think coming," she said, waving the stick in the air while he stood speechless. "I may miss my family but you will not ever see me cry in front of you again! I refuse to give you that satisfaction since I know you thrive on other peoples' misery."
"Your tongue is sharper than my claws," he muttered. "Were you this difficult at home?"
"Difficult? You haven't seen difficult..yet!" she threatened.
Just like Cora...spicy...and just as dangerous.
He waved his hand and his stick was returned to him. "Are you finished?"
"Are you finished being such an ass?"
"You...you called me an ass!" he sputtered. "You dared to call me an ass? How would you like to be sleeping in the dungeon again, dearie?"
"I got used to it before, I'll do it again," she said calmly. "As I said: you won't break me."
"I'll just have to make you work harder then," he teased.
"Oh, you do that already by making this castle so cluttered. Hasn't anyone told you that you're not supposed to shove things into corners? They attract dust and dirt." She retrieved her broom and waved it in front of his face. "Look at this. Do you know how irritating it is to pick this out of my broom?"
"Yes." He waved his hand and she found herself confined in a pile of what would later be called dust bunnies by housewives around the world.
"You are not funny Rumplestiltskin. Get me out of here!" she cried and sneezed as she inhaled dust and dirt while he stood there giggling. "Ohhhh you just wait til I get out of here!" she threatened, and started sweeping herself out of the trap with her broom. She then walked behind him, swung the broom and smacked his backside with the bottom of it...hard.
"You...you...spanked me! With a broom!" he cried.
"You deserved it," she said matter of factly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go finish my work now." She sauntered out of the room, grinning. He was starting to banter with her more often now, it was a good sign. He, on the other hand had suddenly lost the ability to speak. No longer able to concentrate on his game, he returned to his library to work only hours later she burst into the library and asked him to take a walk around the grounds with her.
"You finished your chores a bit early today, Belle. Rushing through them, dearie?"
"Of course not but it's a beautiful evening and I'd hate to walk alone. And you look like you could use a break," she added.
"Perhaps another time," he muttered and lowered his head to read the ingredients for the potion he was working on. She reached out and slammed the book shut, just missing catching his nose in it.
"Are you mad, girl? I was reading that!" he cried.
"You can work on it later," she said and snatched the book away from him. He glared at her.
"I haven't the patience for your antics tonight, Belle. Now, give me that book."
"Why don't you just take it from me? We both know you can," she challenged, her blue eyes clashing with his.
"You'd just steal it again!' he cried. "Fine. We'll go for your walk!" He summoned his cloak.
If he thought accompanying her on her nightly walks satisfied her need for more of his company, he'd had another think coming. She was constantly creating excuses for them to be in the same room together and damned if he didn't obey her requests as if she were in possession of his dagger.
"Rumplestiltskin, come quickly!" Belle cried out urgently one evening from the dining room. He appeared in the room in a puff of smoke.
"Belle? What's wrong?" he asked frantically. "Are you hurt?"
"No...he is," she said and turned around to show him the white and grey kitten she was cradling in her arms. I...I found him lying on the steps."
"Let me have a look at him," Rumple said softly as he took the cat from her. It growled and swatted at him with its paw. "Settle down...I just want to see." he said and carried it over to the table. Upon closer inspection he could see that the cat's hind leg was in an odd position.
"Is there anything you can do?" Belle asked sadly.
"i'm going to try. Would you stay here please? He seems calm with you here." He glanced down at the cat.
I'm going to try to heal your leg. This is Belle. She's going to stay with you while I do this. I'm going to put you to sleep while I do it so you won't feel any pain. Just lie still.
I can do that...hurts so much...I was afraid no one would find me. Th...thank you...the cat said as it drifted off to sleep. Belle gently stroked its back while Rumple focused his magic on the cat's broken leg as he'd done with his own, setting the bones back into their proper places. Occasionally Belle would look up at him and smile.
He does have love in his heart, it's just hard for him to show it, she thought, touched be how tender he was with the kitten.
When he finished with the cat, Rumple conjured a bed for it. "I want you to keep him with you in your room at night but let him out during the day so he can walk around. It will help strengthen his leg," he explained.
"I'm surprised."
"By what, dearie?"
"I didn't know you loved animals so much."
"There's a lot of things you don't know about me," he muttered and walked away.
From that moment the kitten became part of the household. Belle had named it Lucky because she said she'd been lucky to find it. Rumple only thought about keeping the cat until they found it a good home but the cat made it quite clear it wasn't going anywhere both by what it would say to him in his mind and through its actions and he was starting to like having it around, even if it did sometimes have a bad attitude. Also it was another companion for Belle when he was too busy.
It was almost spring and Belle felt the castle was simply too dark. She fetched a ladder from one of the closets and set up against the window so that she could climb up it and open the drapes.
"Why do you spin so much? Sorry. It's just that you've spun straw into more gold than you can ever spend," she said him while he was sitting at the wheel.
"I like to watch the wheel. Helps me to forget."
"Forget what?"
"I guess it worked," he giggled while she laughed. "What are you doing?" he inquired as he approached her.
"Trying to open these. It's almost spring. We should let some light in." The curtains refused to budge. "What did you do? Nail them down?"
"Yes."
She gave the curtain a yank and lost her footing, falling down the ladder and directly into his arms, her eyes meeting his. They'd been in close proximity before but never this close and it was invoking emotions in her that both intrigued and terrified her. With every passing day she was seeing the side of him she knew was there but he was reluctant to show it, the side that was the man and not the beast, the man who had love in his heart...perhaps for her?
"Thank you," she murmured
"No matter," he said nervously and set the girl back on her feet.
"I'll uhh...put the curtains back up."
"There's no need. I'll get used to it," he said and returned to his spinning though he found it much more difficult to concentrate as thoughts of how right it felt to hold her kept occupying his mind.
Not again! he scolded himself. Remember the last time you were foolish enough to let your heart rule your head. She doesn't care for you. She can never care for you.
Frustrated, he rose from the spinning wheel and walked over to the table to pour himself a cup of tea. He drank it from the chipped cup.
"Why did you want me here?" she asked him when she sat down on the table.
"The place was filthy."
"I think you were lonely. I mean any man would be lonely."
"I'm not a man."
"So, I've had a couple of months to look around, you know. And, uh, upstairs, there's, uh, clothing, small, as if for a-a child? Was it yours or... or was there a son?"
"There was. There was a son. I lost him, as I did his mother," he confessed sadly.
"I'm... I'm sorry. So you—you were a man, once. An ordinary man. If I'm never going to know another person in my whole life, can't I at least know you?"
"Perhaps. Perhaps... Perhaps you just want to learn the monster's weaknesses! Nah, nah nah!" he chastised, wagging his finger at her.
"You're not a monster. You think you're uglier than you are. That's why you cover all the mirrors up, isn't it? Hmm?" she asked with a smile.
No, it's to keep bitches like Cora and her daughter from spying on me.
There was a loud knocking on the door and when he went to answer it Belle's foppish suitor stood on the other side demanding her return. He snapped his fingers and turned the annoying man into a rose, thinking it would be the perfect gift for her.
"Who was that?" she asked.
"Just an old woman selling flowers. Here, if you'll have it." he said as he brought the rose out from behind his back.
"Why, thank you." She curtseyed to him as he bowed.
"You had a life, Belle. Before... this...friends... family. What made you choose to come here with me?" he inquired when he returned to his chair.
"Heroism. Sacrifice. You know, there aren't a lot of opportunities in this land for women to show what they can do. To see the world, to be heroes. So, when you arrived, that was my chance. I always wanted to be brave. I figured, do the brave thing, and bravery would follow," she explained as she trimmed the rose to fit into a vase.
"And is it everything you hoped?"
"Well, uh... I did want to see the world. That part didn't really work out. But, uh, I did save my village."
"And what about your, uh... betrothed?"
"It was an arranged marriage. Honestly, I never really cared much for Gaston. To me love is—love is layered. Love is a mystery to uncovered. Yeah, I could never truly give my heart to someone as superficial as he. But, um, you were going to tell me about your son."
I'll tell you what... I'll make you a deal. Go to town, and fetch me some straw. When you return, I'll share my tale."
"But... town? You trust me to come back?"
"Oh, no. I expect I'll never see you again."
Belle was walking along the road when an elegant carriage came to a stop beside her and an equally elegant lady stepped out, asking to walk with her to stretch her legs. Belle didn't know who she was but the lady seemed friendly enough and it was nice to have someone else to talk to, another woman.
"You carry very little," the woman said as she glanced down at Belle's basket.
"I don't want to be slowed down."
"You're running from someone. The question is: master or lover? Oh...master and lover." the woman said with a smile. Belle suddenly felt uneasy.
"I might take a rest. You...you go on ahead."
"So if I'm right, you love your employer...but you're leaving him."
"I might love him. I could...except something evil has taken root in him."
"Sounds like a curse to me and all curses can be broken. A kiss born of true love would do it."
Belle's eyes sparkled with hope. She knew very little about the Dark One and any books he may have had on the subject were off limits to her. He'd made that quite clear. Was it possible that true love would be strong enough to break such a terrible curse?
"Oh, no child. No! I would never suggest a young woman to kiss a man who held her captive. What kind of message is that?"
"Right."
"Besides, if he love you, he would've let you go. And if he didn't love you, well then the kiss wouldn't even work."
"Well, he did let me go." And he had. Were all these feelings she'd been having...the beginnings of love? The only things she knew about the love between a man and a woman came from her books and all of the sensations she'd been having were exactly what she read about.
"Yes, but no kiss happened."
Yet other things had even before she'd fallen off the ladder. Their eyes would meet often across the room and neither one of them would speak at first. When the words did come, there was a softer tone to them. Once in a while, their hands would brush against each other if they reached for items at the same time. He always pulled away first. He was making more of an effort to spend time with her. He didn't say much during their nightly walks or when they both sat in front of the fireplace and read their seperate books but he never needed to. She was content knowing he was there.
"And a kiss, a kiss is enough. He'd be a man again."
"An ordinary man. True love's kiss will break any curse."
He was on edge from the moment she left, pacing the floors.
Will you please stop that pacing? I'm trying to sleep!
"You be quiet...and get off there!" he snapped at Lucky who was lying across his worktable. "How many times have I told you my table is not your bed? Scat!"
Quit taking your worry out on me! And just why are you worried? She'll be back.
"No she won't She has her freedom now and she'll enjoy it...perhaps find someone she can love more than me."
Jackass. You can't see what's right in front of your face, can you? She loves you.
"Who in her right mind would want to love a beast?" he mused.
It's not the beast she sees, it's the man you are underneath. The man you've always been.
"The coward? The crippled ugly spinner? Oh, what a fine husband I'd make! She belongs in a castle with a crown on her head, not a run down shack...if I lose my power that is all I would have to offer her!"
Yet he'd had nothing before but his heart was full of love, even for a wife who despised him. No, he could love her with all his heart and still not have it be enough. Milah certainly didn't think so and neither had Cora. Perhaps it was best if she had left him.
He gazed out the window, his heart leaping into his chest when he saw her walking towards the front doors. She'd returned! He made a mad dash down the steps and into the dining hall to wait for her. She was back and his hopes were raised that she'd returned because she did love him and there was no longer any point in denying it...he loved her in return.