A/N: I know the title sounds happy, but there's some angst here. I want to put up a warning for mentions of child abuse as well. Because it's present in this chapter. On a happy note, I did get to add a few new characters and establish some fun relationships! I hope you guys enjoy!
Christmas at Hogwarts was always a splendid affair. The castle was decked in holiday cheer that rivaled anything the students could have imagined. Christmas trees were strewn throughout the castle and decorations seemed to appear out of nowhere. Their classes remained studiously on task, but even homework couldn't dampen the cheer of the holiday.
When break was two days away, even McGonagall had to admit that her students were retaining little from her lessons. In a rare moment of defeat the old professor liberated her students five minutes early wishing them a Happy Christmas as they eagerly packed up. Belle shot a grin at Rumpelstiltskin as they gathered their things and made for the door.
"We're free!" She exclaimed as they walked from the room.
Rumpelstiltskin snorted at her giddiness, "You're the last person I'd expect to be happy about not having homework."
"I don't live for schoolwork Rumple."
"'Course you don't," he replied, but the smirk he sent her way implied that he didn't believe her.
"I do need to stop by Flitwick's office before lunch," Belle admitted sheepishly. "Just to ask about our exam this morning. I feel like I might not have answered the question about cheering charms as completely as I could."
To his credit Rumplestiltskin merely rolled his eyes at her as they parted ways agreeing to meet in the Great Hall in fifteen minutes. Rumple pulled the strap of his bag tight across his shoulder as he made his way down to the Great Hall. There were plenty of eyes around at this time of day to make him feel comfortable enough to walk alone. So, the young Ravenclaw allowed his mind to drift as he slowly meandered the castle's halls.
He would be spending the holidays at Hogwarts, as per usual. Very few students stayed over during Christmas break, making it his favorite time of year. Especially since Belle had informed him that her father would be out of country for Christmas and she'd decided to stay as well. With an empty common room and most of her other friends leaving for the break, Rumpelstiltskin would have plenty of alone time with his best friend. It was shaping up to be a lovely holiday indeed.
Lost in his own thoughts, Rumpelstiltskin almost didn't notice Thomas Herman slinking across the Entrance Hall in the direction of the dungeons. In fact, if the young man hadn't met Jones there, Rumple probably wouldn't have noticed at all. Whatever those two were up to it was obviously no good. Forget about it Rumple thought to himself as he quickened his stride down the great staircase. It's none of your business.
Unfortunately, at that moment he noticed Gaston sneak away from the Great Hall as well. Curiosity and the hopes of catching those two up to no good won out over common sense. Shaking his head at his own stupidity, Rumpelstiltskin slipped out of the throng of students and followed the two troublemakers.
Rumpelstiltskin made it to the end of the hallway leading to the dungeons before he heard muffled laughter and a good deal of cursing. Following those sounds brought Rumple face to face with a rather unfortunate situation. Joined by James Nolan and (to his great annoyance) Milah, the three boys he'd followed had some poor sod dangling in the air by his ankle as they taunted him.
The good news was that they'd yet to notice him, providing Rumple the opportunity to escape quickly if he moved now. Silently debating that option, he sat watching the scene unfold as the face of the poor unfortunate soul turned his way. Swearing to himself Rumpelstiltskin knew he couldn't simply walk away this time. Not when they had Neal.
Taking a deep steadying breath, he gathered his minimal courage and did the right thing. Drawing his wand quietly, he fired a disarming spell at James causing Neal to fall into a heap on the floor. Rumpelstiltskin managed to disarm Gaston and Thomas before the group zeroed in on him.
Nose twitching like a bird dog, Jones was the one to spot him first. "Well, well would you look at that, the crocodile does have a spine," the Slytherin spat.
Shooting the now forgotten Neal, a get the hell out of here look, Rumple limped forward to confront the group. "It's really sad when you have to resort to picking on young kids for kicks. I expected more from you Jones," he responded coolly, keeping his wand trained on Jones.
"I don't think you've got a lot of room for moral superiority, Rumple," Milah spat in defense of her long-time boyfriend.
"Since I'm not the one currently picking on a kid half my size with four of my mates backing me, I think I'm entitled to the moral high ground this time," Rumple snapped back with a venom he didn't realize he still possessed. Milah drove him to such extremes though. She was the only girl he'd ever dated and subsequently the first to break his heart. She could elicit a response from him like no one else.
Neal made a break for it as Jones shot a disarming spell at Rumpelstiltskin. Being prepared for it, Rumple deflected it easily. However, he wasn't prepared for James to full form tackle him and there was no deflecting that.
The two boys hit the ground hard with Rumpelstiltskin taking the brunt of the force. Stars burst across his vision as Rumple's head connected with the stone floor. Breathless and still in shock, the outnumbered boy couldn't stop James as the boy snatched Rumple's wand and chucked it into the adjacent wall.
"I had a bone to pick with that kid, cripple," the oaf now seated on top of him growled. "But since you're so willing, you can deliver a message for me instead."
Expressing himself with his most colorful vocabulary, Rumpelstiltskin told James exactly what he could do with his message.
"Such language," James tisked shoving Rumple roughly into the ground and once more pulling out his wand. Once in hand James pointed the wand right between the prone boy's eyes. "I should clean out that filthy mouth of yours," he added with a nasty smile. "Scourgify."
Harsh soapy water filled Rumpelstiltskin's mouth choking him. Doubled over and desperately gasping for air, the young man felt the sharp sting of humiliation as James stood above him laughing with the others.
A flash of light following a shout of Incarcerous and Rumpelstiltskin felt his arms bind to his sides while his ankles locked together. If a thick bubbly froth hadn't been cutting off his airway, he knew his fear would have been on display for all to see. This wasn't going to end well.
Spluttering and struggling against invisible bonds, he barely heard Jones voice as the other boy spoke. "I'm glad you decided to stop by Crocodile. I wanted to give you a Christmas present before leaving for Holiday."
Jones's present ended up being a string of stinging jinxes that left Rumpelstiltskin doubled over as best he could while his tormentors continued laughing. Finally, as the cleaning charm wore off, Rumpelstiltskin was able to take a pained breath from his huddled position against the wall. At least until a swift kick to his stomach left him gasping once more. "Bastard," he mumbled from the haze of agony. That got him another kick to the ribs, but at least this time he'd earned the hit.
However, he was quite certain that he hadn't earned the next handful of kicks from James and Thomas. As the blows rained down Rumpelstiltskin wasn't certain whether or not he regretted playing the hero.
Chatting away with Emma Swan (a Gryffindor friend of Mary Margaret Blanchard's) Belle walked into the Great Hall. Her eyes swept across the vast room in search of Rumpelstiltskin. When he was nowhere to be found, a sharp sense of dread filled her stomach, he should have beaten her here. Just as she decided she was being silly, a young man rushing into the hall collided with her back, knocking them both to the floor.
"I'm so sorry," the dazed young man spluttered as he found his feet and helped pull Belle to hers.
The young man had messy black hair and warm dark eye that were currently a little crazed. Fear permeated his round face. As he helped her to her feet, Belle realized that he was a short little thing. He couldn't be very old, or at least no older than her.
Emma was the first to recover from the incident. "You want to watch where you're going next time?"
"Sorry, I'm in a rush and looking for…" It seemed as if the young man finally realized who he was talking to. His eyes went big as they found Belle's. "You actually," he said suddenly. "You'll do."
"Me?" Belle asked. Confused as to how this boy knew her.
"Yeah, you're Belle French."
It wasn't a question, but she answered him anyway. "The one and only."
"Good, we have to go right now." He grabbed her hand as he spoke and pulled her through the double doors back into the Entrance Hall.
Belle pumped the breaks with haste. "I'm not going anywhere with you until you do some explaining," she informed him pointedly as she tore her hand from his grip.
"There's no time," he shouted, his hands running through his hair with frustration. "It's Rumpelstiltskin, he's in trouble."
The young man didn't have to say another word. Belle pushed him into action, "what kind of trouble and where?"
"By the old potions room, there's a whole group of them," the stranger answered quickly. "Down the hallway and take three rights. You won't miss them."
"You're not coming?" Belle asked suddenly wary.
The dark-haired youth shook his head frantically, "I'm going to get more help. Hurry, okay," the boy added before sprinting back into the Great Hall.
Never one to hesitate, Belle took off in the direction he'd pointed her without haste. To her surprise, Emma joined in right beside her as they raced down the hallways into the dungeons. The maddening sound of laughter reached them first. Laughter followed by quite a lot of swearing.
Turning one final corner, they came across three Slytherins from her year along with Gaston and his friend Thomas. In the air in front of them, Rumpelstiltskin was dangling by his foot. His robes hung around his shoulders exposing scrawny white legs and a greying pair of boxer shorts. What she could see of his face was red with humiliation and anger. At the moment it was hard to decide which emotion was winning out.
"Put him down," a voice to her left shouted. Once again it was Emma who came on balance first. The young woman may be brash and stubborn, but Belle was finding that she was rather handy in a pinch.
"Swan," Killian Jones exclaimed as a goofy smile split his face. "Come to join the festivities?"
"Stop being an ass Killian," Emma responded angrily. "Let him go."
"Come on Swan," the smarmy young man asserted as he sauntered forward, "you're not going to spoil a bit of fun, are you?"
Slipping her wand out of her pocket, Belle took matters into her own hands. A quick nonverbal counter spell sent Rumpelstiltskin crashing to the ground harder than she would have liked. But at least he wasn't at their mercy any longer. Another flick of her wand brought her friends wand to her hand.
"Belle," Gaston began.
He never got the opportunity to finish his thought. "Can it Gaston. If I were you I'd leave now before Professor Flitwick gets down here. Wouldn't want your father to know you got detention again this close to break, now would you?"
He shot her a seething glare in return but he and Thomas both fled immediately. Now only outnumbered by one, Belle felt increasingly better about their odds.
"It's bad form to lie to a bloke's mates," Jones informed lightly, though Belle didn't miss the flash of anger in his eyes nor did she miss the note of steel in his voice.
"It's bad form to attack someone five to one," Emma spat back.
A young woman with dark brown hair and a deathly blue gaze jumped forward to defend Jones. "Like he hasn't done that before to some unsuspecting muggle?" She accused tilting her head towards Rumple's slumped form. "That's what you're protecting girl. Sure, you're on the right side?"
For the first time Emma seemed to recognize the boy who she'd jumped to rescue. The Gryffindor didn't bat an eye. "Yeah, I'm right where I should be."
Neither of the girls dropped their wands as the sound of hurried footsteps reached them. Glancing from the corner of her eye, Belle noticed the terrified boy from earlier had reappeared with what he apparently constituted as aid. Help turned out to be a sixth year Ravenclaw, Belle had seen several times. Though Belle had yet to make her acquaintance, she knew that the blonde girl was friendly with Rumpelstiltskin.
The mysterious Ravenclaw swore instantly as she approached the scene. "Killian Jones, you pig-headed prat. What in the bloody hell do you think you're doing?"
For the first time in her memory, Jones appeared at a loss for words. "Alice… I, I… well."
"Save your lies," the girl interjected shutting Jones down.
For a moment, Belle almost felt sorry for the Slytherin. He looked upset and at a loss and so much like the young boy he was. But a soft groan from her best friend instantly tossed aside any lingering sympathy for Jones. Belle rushed to Rumpelstiltskin's side, content that the others could handle the remaining Slytherins. Grabbing his hand and placing the other on his shoulder she began looking over her friend.
"Rumple," she said softly giving the boy a shake. "Hey, Rumple. Can you hear me?"
He merely grunted in reply, eyes shut tight, but she felt a slight squeeze of her hand which gave her some encouragement. Behind her, Alice and Emma were tearing into the three Slytherins. Neal stood behind the two women, watching them make verbal mincemeat of the bullies with a smug look on his face.
"Belle," a whisper from Rumpelstiltskin pulled her back to her friend.
"Well hey there."
"What are you…" he started groggily as he tried to sit up.
Carefully helping him, Belle did her best to throw on a cheeky smile. "Well when you didn't meet me for lunch, I figured you'd either stood me up or found some form of trouble. Since I doubt you'd ever so be so rude as to ditch me, it stood to reason that your proclivity for trouble had gotten you into another mess."
A quick flash of warm brown eyes appeared from between the curtains of too long hair. "Do you have my wand?"
Belle nodded and handed the object over to him. A sudden flash and bang interrupted their quiet conversation.
Emma was sprawled out on the floor, cursing the female Slytherin. Before anyone else had a chance to react, Rumpelstiltskin's wand arm flew up and a jet of red light hit Jones square in the chest knocking him back into the wall.
"You little-" James hissed as he lifted his own wand, but he never finished his sentence.
Neal, wand aimed at the Nolan twin, beat him to the punch. "Petrificus Totalus," he shouted.
James went limp and crashed to the floor even as Milah and Jones leapt into action. Belle pulled Rumpelstiltskin close to her, ripping his wand from his hand. He'd had enough excitement for one day. Alice proved to be exceptionally proficient in hexes and jinxes, while Emma proved to able to hold her own. In the end Jones resembled something that belonged in a swamp and Milah held tight to a bloodied nose – courtesy of Emma's fist.
Leaving the Slytherins to their fate, Alice walked calmly over to Belle and Rumple. "Up you get," she intoned calmly, helping Belle pull Rumple to his feet. The older girl grabbed his cane, while Belle slipped his arm around her neck. Leaning heavily against her, Rumpelstiltskin seemed determined to walk back to the common room.
"Get him back to the Common Room," Alice instructed giving Belle a hard look. "If you follow this hall and take the last door on the left, there's a secret passage that'll dump you out on the fifth floor." Turning her attention to Rumpelstiltskin, the strange girl's voice took on a gentler tone. "You're a mess Rumple. Let her clean you up and then you stay in bed for the evening okay. I'll take care of these three."
Blood caked to his face from a large scratch over his eye and looking as if he would fall from his feet any moment, Rumpelstiltskin nodded slowly. "Thank you," he mumbled.
Throwing a withering glance at the three Slytherins, Alice led Neal and Emma out of the labyrinth of the dungeons. The three companions walked in silence until they reached the Entrance Hall. "You two head out," Alice instructed. "I'm going to find someone to deal with our unfortunate friends."
With that, she turned on her heel and left the two third years standing together awkwardly. Neal couldn't help but feel like he'd bonded with this Gryffindor over the past few minutes. You didn't usually take on three prats without forming a connection with those who fought beside you.
Unsure of what to say, but certain that he needed to say something, Neal did what he did best. Throwing on a smile he presented his best impression of a normal teenage boy. "You're Emma Swan, right?"
Emma shot him a look that clearly said she didn't have time for him, but she answered anyway. "I'm sorry, I have no idea who you are."
"Neal Cassidy," the boy introduced himself with a tilt of his head. "Hufflepuff... we have Herbology together," he added noticing that she had no idea who he was.
Recognition flited across her features. "So how did a third year Hufflepuff get Rumplestiltskin to stick his neck out for him?" Emma asked, leading the way to the Great Hall.
Neal shrugged lazily, "He's my cousin. He's pretty much been doing that my whole life. Ready to run yet?" He flashed her a roughish grin which she, surprisingly, returned.
"Not quite. You're awfully chipper for a guy who just had his ass handed to him," Emma pointed out as the two stopped in the doorway of the Great Hall.
"Maybe I like the danger," Neal quipped.
"I don't need to know about your weird fetishes, it was just a comment," Emma responded rolling her eyes. But there was a playfulness about her that encouraged Neal to no end.
"Emma Swan would you have lunch with me?"
For a moment she hesitated. She didn't know this boy and he was obviously not averse to making trouble. Then Neal gave her a cocky grin and she found herself saying yes. The smile that split his face, revealing just how nervous he'd been, made Emma think that she might have made the right decision this time.
Striding purposefully down the long tables of the Great Hall, Alice found who she was looking for with little trouble. The well-muscled and roguishly handsome figure of the sixth year Slytherin prefect was an easy one to pick out.
"Oy, Arthur," she shouted from right behind the boy, causing him to startle violently.
"Alice," he breathed as he turned and found her beside him. "What the devil are you doing?"
Dropping down to the seat next to him, Alice made herself comfortable. "I just wanted to let you know that I left a few members of your house lying across a hallway down in the dungeons."
As she expected, Arthur swore loudly before apologizing for doing so in her presence. "Alice we've talked about this," the older boy whined. "You can't just hex them into oblivion because they're picking on someone you actually like."
"There were five of them against just him. Only three were Slytherin, but that Gryffindor tosser won't listen to me. So, here I am. Letting you know that the only three who actually stayed to fight were the ones from your house."
"So much for being brave and chivalrous," Arthur snorted into his pumpkin juice. "I'll take care of them. Thank you for coming to me first Alice."
Shooting him a flirtatious wink, she stood to go. "Actually, handle them this time and I'll let Gwen now what a real catch you are."
Alice walked away before he could respond, but she didn't miss the blush that crept into his cheeks nor the hope that spilled across his face. Now that everything else was handled, she had a fourth year Ravenclaw to confront.
As Alice and the others disappeared behind them, Belle led Rumpelstiltskin down the corridor to the door Alice insisted would get them away from the dungeons.
"We need to get you to Madam Pomfrey," Belle insisted gently.
"No." Rumpelstiltskin's response was far harsher than he'd expected. He cast his eyes down, unable to look at her after that.
Yet Belle persisted as if he hadn't just yelled at her. "Yes, Rumple. It's a safe bet that you have a few bruised or broken ribs. You need to see her-"
"Belle no." Seeing he wasn't winning he begged, "Belle please. I don't want to go to the hospital wing."
By the time they'd taken the secret passage that led them to the 5th floor, it seemed that Belle could stand it no longer. Facing him as best she could under the circumstances, Belle began her now usual rant.
"This is wrong Rumple. You have to go to a professor. We'll fix you up and then you go."
Generally, he loved her stubborn nature. It was frustrating and endearing all at once. But today, it only tired him further. "It won't do any good."
"You can't know that until you've tried," she insisted.
"Belle, I have," Rumpelstiltskin admitted. "Flitwick and McGonagall both know. They can't watch over me 24/7."
"Then we tell them about this time!"
"And let Jones and everyone else know I'm a rat as well as a 'supremacist?' No thank you. They'll take the Mickey out of me for certain then." Attempting to lean on her a little less, Rumpelstiltskin picked up their slow pace as they reached the sixth floor.
"As opposed to now?" Belle fired back at him. "They're going to continue either way. What's the difference?" he didn't have an answer for that, and Belle clearly took that as a win. "What about the headmistress, surely she can help. She-"
"Belle," he said with a shake of his head. "She won't help me."
"She will."
Belle's certainty that everyone was basically good was refreshing at times and terrifyingly naïve at others. The world wasn't always black and white like she wanted it to be. Sometimes, people just sucked.
"No. She won't," Rumpelstiltskin supplied in a voice barely more than a whisper. A long moment of silence as they limped up the stairs to their tower promised Belle would be asking for this story. Knowing her as he did, Rumple didn't disappoint. "Her entire family, husband and two kids, died during the Second Wizarding War. Tortured for information and then killed... by my father. She won't help me."
"But you're not your father."
"I'm the closest thing."
Silence pervaded as they found themselves at the door to the Ravenclaw common room. Answering the riddle and stepping through the portal, the two found a basically empty common room.
"It's not right," Belle broke out again once they made it to the stairs. "You don't believe any of the crap your father stands for. Do you?"
Her last question had been tacked on to the end as if she wasn't certain she wanted to ask it. If there had been any form of condemnation or worry in that question, Rumpelstiltskin knew that he'd have shut down with her then and there. But she was just checking. Making certain that her trust hadn't been misplaced. "Course not," he answered.
Rumpelstiltskin hated just how much he was depending on her strength by the time they reached his dormitory. But Belle acted as if he was no hinderance at all. Instead, she focused on her continued questions.
"Then why target you. Why blame you for his crimes," she asked, completely unaware of why people could be so cruel.
"It's easy. They can't get him, so they take it out on me. Most of the kids here just need a target and I'm convenient. No one is going to stop them, no one in their right mind would help me," he flashed her a humorless smile at that comment. "In the end most of them really don't care. They just know it's right to hate me and it's better for everyone if they think I'm the monster." He hadn't meant to sound so bitter there at the end, but he couldn't help it. He was in a great deal of pain and Belle's soothing nature brought such emotions out of him.
Sitting him down on his bed she faced his resignation head on. "You're not a monster."
"You've not known me for very long."
"I've known you long enough. You don't deserve this. It's wrong, Rumpelstiltskin."
He didn't reply. She didn't understand, and he was loathe to help her in this case. Rumpelstiltskin knew he deserved so much worse than what his tormentors here at Hogwarts did to him, but he treasured that Belle believed he didn't. She would understand eventually, but, for now, he'd live happily knowing she didn't.
"Pull down your robes so I can take a look at your chest," she ordered, pulling him from his dark thoughts.
He gaped at her at her boldness, but his eyes quickly fell to his hands. "I can take care of myself," he insisted, terrified at what would happen should she see him.
"Don't be ridiculous, I know a good healing spell. Let me take a look."
"I know it as well and I'm rather adept at such spells, so leave," he tried in a snarky tone. Hoping to goad her to anger. At least then she wouldn't see-
"Rumpelstiltskin Gold, when a woman tells you to pull down your robes, so she can help you. You do so. Now let me take care of you." It was her steady blue gaze that finally did him in. Her eye held none of the hatred or disgust he was so accustomed to. Instead he was faced with something far more terrifying. She cared about him.
Belle recognized the change in his features that signaled she'd won. Shyly, Rumpelstiltskin pulled his robes down over his shoulders until his back and chest were exposed. Both were a patchwork of purples, blacks, and yellows, exposing the fact that this obviously wasn't his first beating of the year. Yet for the life of her Belle couldn't remember him being or even acting hurt.
Focusing her energy on taking care of her friend, Belle moved her wand from one spot to the next as she slowly knit bones and skin back together. As the bruises healed, Belle noticed long scars marring the exposed skin. The sight stirred a faint memory of seeing these, to a lesser degree before. The marks covered his shoulders and back but also marred his chest and abdomen. She noticed that not even his arms had been spared. Some of the scars were small thin things while others were large and had obviously been painful.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, Belle looked up into her friend's face. Rumple's lips formed a tight line as his eyes fell shut as she asked the question that she wasn't sure she wanted an answer to. "Where did these come from?"
No reply crossed his lips. Rumpelstiltskin sat still as a statue, unwilling to even look at her.
"These aren't from other students, are they?"
Shaking his lowered head Rumple's shoulders slumped as he shrunk in on himself.
Belle ambled slowly down the stairs back into the common room. After cleaning him up, she'd stayed with Rumpelstiltskin until he'd fallen into a much needed sleep. Her friend had continued, shaking with fear or anger she wasn't certain, for an hour after they'd returned. Today's round with his tormentors and Belle's prying questions had left him spent.
Walking into the mostly empty common room, Belle found the young Ravenclaw girl who'd helped them sitting in a chair next to the fire, facing the stairs.
"So, you're this Belle I've heard so much about then." The girl (Alice?) called as Belle walked over to join her.
Once again it hadn't been a question. "I am. I'm sorry, I don't really know who you are."
I'm Alice," the girl said sticking out a hand. "But my friends call me Tilly."
"Tilly?" Belle asked as she grasped Alice's hand.
"Yeah, I don't know where it came from either," she answered with a shrug. "But it's stuck."
"How do you know Rumple?"
"Straight to it all then, I rather like you." A mischievous glint took hold of the other girl's eyes. "I've known him all his life." Tilly smiled at the confusion on Belle's face before continuing. "He's my cousin. That pathetic sod you met earlier, is my brother Neal."
Understanding hit Belle like a freight train. "That's why Neal helped him."
"More likely the other way around. Not sure if you're aware, but Rumple's a bloody idiot. He's always looked after Neal, but he doesn't have the self-preservation habits to know the difference between looking after and changing someone's target. Bloody idiot like I said."
Belle had learned so much about her mysterious friend in the last few hours. To the point where she wasn't certain that she'd ever really known him at all. But removing this layer from the thick skin that Rumpelstiltskin buried himself beneath was an accomplishment like none she'd ever known. However, she needed to know more, if possible. Maybe Tilly could help her with that.
"You're his family then?" Belle began hoping that she'd masked her blatant curiosity well enough.
Tilly nodded. "Yeah, he's stayed with us quite a bit in the past few years. Ever since his father outed himself as the gigantic ass everyone always knew he was. Not that my own is much better," she admitted in the end.
"Rumple's father-"
"Let me stop you right there, bookworm," Tilly interrupted suddenly guarded and fierce. "Rumpelstiltskin is a lot of things, but he's not his father. That man is a blight on the wart that is humanity and he left everyone else to deal with the fallout of his decisions."
"I, I know. I've gathered that much actually myself," Belle replied, appalled that the girl would berate her for no reason. "My question isn't about politics anyway."
Belle's indignation seemed to cool Tilly's momentary anger. "Oh, well why didn't you start with that."
The beauty managed to catch herself before her eyes rolled. This girl was infuriating, but Belle's next question was sensitive. "Did… does…" she stammered unable to find the words to properly ask her questions. Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and tried again. "When I was helping Rumple upstairs, and before that really, I noticed… well I've noticed, that he has some… scars. And I was wondering if you knew how he got those?"
Tilly's face quickly fell into a blank mask, answering Belle's question without a word. "You should ask him about those, not me."
"I did. And he shut down. He'll tell me eventually, I'm sure. But…"
"But you need to know now."
"I just want to help him. I can't do that without all the information."
Fixing Belle with a long calculating stare, Tilly made up her mind about the fourth year. "Malcolm is the worst sort of bastard. He was bad before Fiona died, but her death sent him over the edge. He blames Rumple for her death. Takes it out on him and calls it love."
Belle's mouth fell into a silent "oh" as her worst fears were confirmed. "But he isn't with his father now, right?" She inquired, hoping for a spot of good news.
Tilly neither denied nor confirmed her question. "Rumple stays with us a lot. Not that that is a much better situation, but his father comes for him from time to time. Takes him for a month or so every summer, to wherever it is he's hiding out. Neal and I tried to stop him one time, but I think we might have made it worse."
"Why does he come back. If he hates Rumple that much…"
Tilly shrugged, "Old Malcolm is funny about family. He may despise his own kid, but that kid is his. It's sick and it's twisted Belle. But Rumple always goes, and he rarely says a bad thing about his father. Doesn't usually take it well when others speak ill of the man."
"Sick and twisted," Belle agreed quietly.
Tilly cleared her throat and a crazed smile lit her face. "Now, though. Now comes the part where I tell you that if you hurt him, you get to deal with me. And when I'm through with you, it'll make what I did to Jones look like child's play."
A darkness that seemed both fitting and unreal filled Tilly's bright eyes as she threatened the girl she just met. Belle didn't know if it was a bluff or if the girl was dead serious, but she took Tilly's threat at face value. This wasn't someone she wanted to cross.
"I won't hurt him. Wouldn't dream of it."
"That's good. Cause I rather like you Belle."
A/N: Thanks for reading! Let me know what you guys think and if you have a prompt feel free to leave it! See you guys in the next chapter.