A/N: Okay my dearies. So far, you have all been loving this, and I am proud to say I am the first to come up with this kind of AU. My idea for this story is to do a similar back and forth of fairy world and Storybrook. So, if you see italicized words, it's a flashback. And I figured it would be easier to write it in a narrative form and not from a point of view to make life easier for myself. To clarify for myself as well as for my wonderful readers, this story is set before Emma arrives, and Regina doesn't know about Belle and Rumplestilzkin's love for one another. More of that will be revealed later, I promise. I'm building anticipation, and I promise, although there is no smut in this update, it will be coming soon for those of you who love my smutty Rumbelle goodness. Lots of love! Joanne.

The door to the cell opened by magic, and Belle was greeted by the light of a torch and her mystical captive, Rumplestilzkin. "Follow me," the magical man beckoned as the beautiful princess slowly got to her feet and began to walk behind him. "I've decided that it's been a while now, and well, I can't have my help living in a dungeon now can I?"

Belle had no words for him. For the past few weeks, she had been cleaning and cooking for the Dark One, and sleeping in the dungeons on the cold floor without even a blanket to keep warm. She held no contempt for Rumplestilzkin for that; she knew this was her price to pay for saving her people from invasion. Rumplestilzkin had warned her before she made that deal; all magic comes with a price. She took her pains in silence, and prayed to the gods that her suffering would be short lived.

Rumplestilzkin continued. "I have seen how diligently you have been working for me, and to reward you for both your duty and loyalty, since you have yet to run away, I have upgraded you to a new room."

The magical imp chuckled devilishly as he opened one of the thousands of doors in his magnificent castle, and Belle's eyes widened. Her blue eyes roamed the room, unable to take in everything at once. A small gasp escaped her naturally red lips as she took in the numerous books that rested on the shelves braced on the walls. A large four poster bed stood in the middle of the room covered in the most luxurious silk sheets and the softest downy pillows. The room was Belle's dream.

"I-I don't know what to say," Belle stammered. "Th-thank you, sir! Thank you so much!"

She hugged him around the middle, and his face contorted into surprise and shock. No one ever touched him, and hadn't for such a long time. Rumplestilzkin thought that he would hate human contact like this, but he slowly put his arms around the beautiful princess, patting her back. "You do know that this comes with a price, right dearie?"

Her arms dropped from around his waist as she pulled away to look into his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"I have a little proposal for you dearie," said Rumplestilzkin, his black eyes glittering wildly.

I felt a little better as I sat down at the large dining table, and began to fiddle with my linen napkin. I felt a little uncomfortable using a linen napkin. I was so used to paper napkins, and always felt that linen napkins should only be used in decoration. I felt nervous that I would stain the beautiful white linen.

"I hope you are feeling much better," said Mr. Gold as he brought me a plate of chicken parmegian and pasta marinara. "I made all of this myself from scratch. Bon appetite."

I flashed him a smile, and cut into my chicken parm, and popped a small piece into my mouth. I felt like I had died and went to heaven. "Mmm," I sighed. "This is so good!"

"Thank you," said Mr. Gold as he gave me a warm smile. "It's an old family recipe."

"I could never cook something like this," I sighed as I wiped my mouth with my napkin. "I can cook basic things, but nothing fancy like this."

"It's simple, really," said Mr. Gold as he got up from his seat. He walked to the kitchen, and came back holding a card in his hand. "My great great grandfather's recipe. If you can follow directions, you can do anything."

I began to blush, and looked down at my half eaten plate. What he didn't know was that from time to time I burned even the simplest of cakes and brownies, and even with a recipe, I was bound to mess something up.

I finished my plate, and rose to help gather the dishes. "Oh, you don't need to help with that, dearie," said Mr. Gold.

"It's only right," I said as I pushed a stray curl away from my face. "I don't mind."

"Why don't you wait for me in the sitting room for me?" asked Mr. Gold. "I have a proposition to ask of you."

I felt goosebumps creep over my skin, but did as I was told. I sat down on the large sofa, and crossed my legs, waiting for Mr. Gold to arrive.