Belle sat quietly on the floor beside the cot that Rumpel was lying on and stroked his hand that laid at his side. He had not woke up yet. Regina had healed his wound to his head and the bump that had formed under the small wound. It surprised Belle how much a small wound on Rumpel's head could cause so much blood. The dried blood had matted his hair to his head and stained his greying hair an ungodly colour. She could not bear to look at the reminder that her Rumpel had been hurt and hurt by none other than his mother.
As a mother herself, even after a short amount of time, she could never put herself in Rumpel's mother position. Why would she hurt her son? And why did she want his power? She seemed to have enough power to cause harm to her son already, so why did she need more? It did not add up to Belle, but then she was a simpleton when it came to the magic side of life. It scared her and made her curious at the same time.
"Belle…?" A small voice called to Belle through the curtained doorway. Belle rose from her position on the floor and gave Rumpel a loving caress to his cheek before she went into the front of the shop. She glanced over her shoulder to see Gideon take up residence next to his father, his eyes constantly watching his father's face.
Slipping through the heavy material of the curtains, Belle came to stop beside Snow, who was reading a book on the glass counter. Snow gave Belle a reassuring smile before returning to her book. Belle peeked over her shoulder to see what the other woman was reading.
"It seems the Black Fairy has been around quite a long time." Snow informed Belle. "She was around long before Rumpel was even born."
"Really?" Belle asked taking a closer look at the book.
"Yeah, she was thrown out of the fairies because she was expecting a child." Snow said with a sympathetic hand touching Belle's forearm.
"When she became pregnant with Rumpel?" Belle's eyebrows rose at the information.
"Then he was born." Snow pointed to a section of the page. "She left and went back to the fairies, hoping to get accepted back into the fold. However, they resented her for abandoning her child and they banished her. Her hatred grew and her heart became black. That's when she vowed to kidnap children and do anything to stop the good work of the fairies."
"The Black Fairy must really hold that against Rumpel." Belle was lost in her words. The thoughts were running round and round in her mind made her dizzy. She realised then how much hurt and hatred had been forced onto one little boy by his parents. It was no wonder he grown up with the beast on his back.
They heard a raised voice from the back of the shop. "Father, lay back down! You hit your head really hard!"
Belle dashed into the back of the shop, the curtains flung to one side as she burst through them. Gideon and Rumpel were on their feet in the middle of the room. They were struggling against one another. Rumpel was trying to pull himself free of the young man's hold, snatching his arms out of his hold, only for Gideon to catch hold of him somewhere else. Gideon grabbed a handful of Rumpel's waistcoat, pulling the elder man towards him.
"Let go of me, boy!" Rumpel snarled, trying to break Gideon's hold
"Rumpel!" Belle cried, closing the distance between her and her family.
"Let me go!" Rumpel growled, his eyes seething at his son.
Belle grabbed onto Rumpel's face between her two hands and made him look at her. "Don't!"
He stopped. His eyes stared into her eyes. The anger was evident in his face. Her thumbs caressed his face, soothing the beast inside her husband. Rumpel closed his eyes with his hands coming up to gentle rest on Belle's hands. He clasped her hands and took a deep breath. In one movement, Rumpel tugged her towards her and hugged her tightly to his chest.
"You're okay." He whispered into her ear. The words spoken for himself. Needing to hear out loud that she was okay.
"Yes, I'm okay." Belle buried her face into the nape of his neck. Her previous worry gave into the submission of his smell. Everything else melted away as they shared this precious moment together. They held each other. Rumpel lightly kissed her temple and he turned his face into her hair breathing her in deeply.
The curtain rustled behind her. "Ah, crocodile's up!" Hook announced to the other room. The use of an un-liked nickname made Rumpel tense. Belle felt him turn his gaze to the unwelcomed visitor as the warmth of his face left the crook of her neck. His arms slowly released her and he moved her to one side to move pass her towards Hook. She turned to watch Rumpel with Gideon coming to stand beside her, his arm protectively resting over Belle's shoulders.
Rumpel's shoulders looked tensed and he stroke towards Hook with a purpose. Hook quickly moved out of Rumpel's way, when he saw the look that was on Rumpel's face. Rumpel's temper was boiling. The curtains felt it as he flung them aside and disappeared into the front of the shop. Belle, Gideon and Hook hastily followed him into the other room. He stomped towards the front door with everyone watching with gapping mouths.
"Where're you going?" Belle shouted at him. Rumpel stopped with his hand resting on the doorknob to the door. He gazed at her over his arm. She had seen him somewhat like this before, when Robin Hood had stolen a wand from Rumpel's collection. However, the hatred she saw in his eyes, the anger, was much more than that. Maybe even something she could not soothe.
"Don't try and stop me, sweetheart!" Belle heard the venom in Rumpel's words, but knew it was not towards her or anyone in the room. "She's going to pay!"
"Just wait a second." Belle pleaded as she moved to stand in the middle of the shop.
"For what? For her to come and attack me again? To attack you or Gideon!" Rumpel chided, his hand fell from the doorknob, and he turned to face her.
"No, of course, not. We've found a book with a passage in about her." Belle tried to gesture for him to come and see it. He stubbornly held his ground by the door.
Trying a new tactic, she picked up the book and took it to him. "Look, this depicts how she was thrown out of the fairies."
"I know all this!" He flung his hand through the air. The book flew out of a Belle's hands and just missed hitting Hook in the face. Everyone stared at the book that sat helplessly on the floor behind Hook.
The door's bell rattled and rang, as the door was forcefully yanked open. "I have not got time for these stupid books! You can all stand in here and read these dust collectors, while I go deal with… her!"
"Wait!" Regina jogged over to the door, her hand resting on the glass in the door to stop him opening it further. "You can't do it on your own."
Rumpel did not move. The growl was deep. "Move!"
"Listen to me!" Regina said to him as her hand moved from the door to Rumpel's forearm. "We can help you. Let us help…"
"Don't talk to me about helping me!" He erupted slamming the door shut again. "When have you ever helped me? Never! You've just caused me heartache! You locked my Belle, my true love, in a dungeon for years! And you want me to let you help me?" He turned to the rest of the room as Regina stepped back against the display cabinet behind her, hit by his words. "All of you! Meddlers!"
Belle gently touched his arm. He spun round so quickly, he nearly knocked Belle off her feet. "Don't you touch me right now!"
"Please, Rumpel." Her voice was a whisper. Rumpel breathed heavily at her. His eyes held her. Belle let him stand for a silent moment and then touched his hand. He did not scare her. Rumpel was hurting and whether he wanted it or not, she was going to soothe his beast back into control.
As she laced their fingers together, Rumpel's shoulders fell with all the tension evaporating at her touch. The strong angry man deflated in front of her. The intensity he had in eyes had been replaced with unshed tears. Belle lifted her free hand to stroke at his cheek and gave him a loving smile. Her smile was his undoing. Rumpel near enough tripped on his own feet and fell into her arms, his face seeking to hide in her shoulder. She held him and gently rubbed over his back.
Regina's hand rubbed at Rumpel's upper arm. He did not show that he was aware of her touch, but Belle thanked her with a brief smile. The group went back to looking through the various books they had dug out of Rumpel's small library. Hook picked up the book that had tried to assault him and watched it cautiously, putting it onto the side with the other books.
Snow began to wander over to where Belle still held Rumpel and began to talk to Regina. "Look at this."
"What?" Regina said to her, glancing over the pages Snow was showing to her.
Before anymore was said, Belle fell forward into the cloud of smoke that had enveloped Rumpel. Stunned Belle steadied herself against Regina and Snow. Everyone looked around the room as Gideon ran to look through the curtains into the back of the shop.
"He isn't back here!" Gideon shouted from the rear of the shop.
A loud cry of pain erupted from outside. The occupants of the Rumpel's shop did not know which way to run first. The cry came from all directions. It was a deathly cry. The amount of hurt someone must have gone through to cry out with that much emotion was unheard of. Belle's grip on Regina and Snow tightened before she bolted towards the front door and ripped the door open.
As she came to stand outside Rumpel's shop at the kerb, her breath caught in her chest at the sight she could see down the street. Rumpel was in the middle of the street. The Black Fairy stood a few feet away from him and laughed at her son. Rumpel let further cries of pain escape. He was knelt on the floor. Some sort of jewel type shard was piercing through his chest and protruded through his back. There was further like spikes piercing through his hands, keeping him restrained and from using his magic.
"No!" Gideon yelled and ran towards where his father was knelt in agony. The Black Fairy saw him coming and flick her hand sending Gideon flying backwards. Belle went to his aid and helped him off the ground.
Emma was the first to throw a pure ball of magic at the Black Fairy. Sadly, she easily deflected it and laughed at the lame attempt. Scowling, Emma made another attempt with Regina joining her with an assault of fireballs. The two threw several balls of magic towards the Black Fairy but she deflected each one before raising a protection barrier in front of her.
"Enough!" The Black Fairy shouted. "You cannot stop me!"
Rumpel tried to move but stopped to let a blood-curdling cry out. The Black Fairy bent over to Rumpel and said something to him that no one could hear. At her words, his body fell in defeat against the jewel shard that erupted from the ground and through him.
"Now," The Black Fairy said, catching everyone's attention. "Don't touch him." She gestured to Rumpel. "If you touch him, more spikes will form and will relentlessly burrow through him, causing him much pain for this worthless maggot."
"Leave him alone!" Belle screamed. She began to run over to Rumpel, but Charming caught her mid stride with an arm around her waist. He whispered in her ear and tried to steady her as Belle bucked against his arm, kicking at his legs as she fought.
"Ooo!" The Black Fairy clapped her hands in glee. "Go on! Let her go! I want to see this!"
At hearing her words, Belle dug deep inside her and found the strength to break from Charming's hold. She ran full pelt at the Black Fairy. In her newfound fury, Belle had forgotten the protection barrier that the Black Fairy had erected in front of herself and ran straight into it. The force of her efforts rebounded her to hit the floor hard.
Another round of cries erupted from Rumpel as he fought against the spike that held him. Belle looked to Rumpel. His face was bright red with the anguish. He pushed further and began to move on the spike. A small amount of hope started to build in Belle's stomach. 'He's fighting!' Belle told herself. His foot found a more stable footing and he began to push again.
The ground underneath erupted grumbling the tarmac beneath Rumpel. A spike in the same material as the previous grew from the ground. It stopped for a second and then shot straight through Rumpel's stomach region. Rumpel wailed as the spike pierce through Rumpel's back and stopped at the same height as the first spike.
"Stop!" Belle screamed, her hands covering her face.
The Black Fairy was standing over Belle, where she sat on the floor, and bent down to her height. "I am going to find his dagger now. Be a dear for me and make sure he doesn't escape. Every time he tries to break from those spikes, he will endure more pain, just the way I like it."
Belle could not speak. She vaguely noted that the Black Fairy had puffed herself into a cloud of black smoke and was gone. Her eyes stared at Rumpel. His gaze fixed on the road in front of him. The amount of effort he had to build to lift himself against his bodyweight was putting a tremendous strain on him. If he allowed his arms to relax, he would fall further onto the spikes. Even with his black waistcoat and shirt, Belle could see the small amount of blood that was seeping from the wounds the spikes had caused, glistening in the streetlights.
Footsteps pounded on the pavement and came to stand near Belle. Gideon grabbed at Belle's woolly jumper as he knelt beside her on the road. Belle's breath hitched as Rumpel began to struggle again against the spikes, trying to push himself up. Just as before, another spike shot out of the ground and pierced through his left thigh. Unable to bear the cry from her husband, Belle turned her face into Gideon's chest.
"Rumpel!" Regina shouted at him. "Stop fighting!"
"NO!" He roared.
"Just stop!" Emma yelled.
Charming pipped up. "Rumpel, don't do it!"
"She wins, if I stop!" Rumpel began to push himself off the spikes again but stopped at the weak voice. "Don't, Rumpel! Please! I can't bear it!"
Rumpel's eyes squeezed shut at Belle's voice. He stopped moving and the silent surrender fell over Rumpel, resting his weight onto his free knee. Belle swallowed hard at the sight of her husband. She wanted to run over to him and kiss his pain away, but she held the Black Fairy's words in high regard at that precise moment. If she touched him, he would get further spikes run through his body. She was lost and not because of him, for once. She was lost because she could not be his hero.