SMOKE AND ASHES
Archie accompanies Gold to The Library to help manage his part of The Heist while Belle and Emma go out shopping together. Belle returns to the hotel and models some attractive undergarments for Mr. Gold who responds passionately. The following day, it is Jefferson turn to accompany Gold to The Library, also to help him manage his role in The Heist. Belle, who accompanies Jefferson and Gold, is there when her father comes to seek the solace of The Library. His Majesty shares that this is the place that his daughter would come to enjoy the books and the cat. She seemed happiest in this place. His Majesty and Mr. Gold bond over their mutual feelings of losing a child. Gold encourages the king, telling him that he may yet see his daughter whole and healthy.
Belle is devastated by her father's obvious grief and self-blame for her disappearance.
Chapter 23
The Heist
(A.N. there is a little smut in the middle of the chapter)
Belle had collapsed into him once they got back to their hotel room.
"Am I doing the right thing? Should I go back home?" she asked him. He was no empath but he could tell she was in agony.
Gold hesitated. This was hard for him. He wanted her to stay with him. He wanted to keep her for himself, all for himself. But he wanted her to be happy. "Belle, what do you want to do?" he finally asked her stroking her hair as she leaned into him.
"I don't know," she raised a tearful face to his. "When I heard my father talking . . . how much he blamed himself. He seemed so sad. But then I remember that I had to get away from the confinement and the medication and . . . everything. I know he was doing what he thought was best but it was all wrong." She sniffed and rubbed her nose on his shoulder. "Will a letter be enough, do you think?" she asked. "Will that help him feel better?"
"Knowing you're alive, that you're safe and you're healthy? Yes, I think that will be enough," he told her hugging her close ignoring the snot stain on his tee-shirt.
"And you," Belle turned her face up to his again. "You had a child that died?" she asked him.
Even in her own distress, she thought of him. He hesitated again, "Belle, it was a long time ago." He started slowly, "I was in a liaison with a woman I thought loved me. When she got pregnant, I was over-joyed but. . . she lost the baby. It was a boy. "
Belle had tears streaming down her face again. "I'm so sorry."
"Belle, that child was like a living, breathing person to me. I had these fantasies of teaching him how to tie knots and . . . well, just a lot of stuff. I have this image in my mind of what he would have looked like when he was born, with brown hair and brown eyes and a straight smile that he would have gotten from his mother. He was so real to me."
"What happened? To the woman, his mother?" Belle had to ask.
"She never seemed as distressed as I was by the loss of the baby. We were still together . . . afterwards, but she started to become distant. I suspected she was seeing another man, perhaps other men."
"So she left?" Belle wasn't sure. Had he asked her to leave? Told her to leave?
"She came to me one day and said she thought she needed to move out. We still saw each other from time to time, even after she got married to some high-powered corporate prince. But over time, we . . . "
Belle waited.
"The relationship became hostile," Gold finally shared.
"I'm so sad. The poor baby and then this relationship ending so badly." She sniffed again and snuggled against him. "Will you hold me tonight?" she asked him in a little girl voice. "Just hold me?"
"As long as you need me to," he promised her and gently helped her undress. Summoning the only thing that was close, he pulled one of his clean white tee-shirts over her head before lying down with her.
+ + + + The Morning of the Heist
Gold knew it was morning. There was a bright light coming through the curtains. He felt an unaccustomed feeling that morning. It took him a moment to identify it.
Nervousness.
He was used to relying on his own powers. He was more than comfortable relying on his own powers. But in this upcoming endeavor, he had to rely on others.
It was a most uncomfortable feeling.
He didn't like relying on others.
He felt Belle wiggle against him. She was still wrapped around him wearing one of his white tee-shirts. It covered her but the thin fabric left little to the imagination. She had clung to him all night long, alternating crying and sleeping restlessly. She'd settled down as the night wore on and did finally seem to settle into a deep slumber. He had lain awake most of the night.
Holding her.
Just holding her.
He suddenly became aware that she was pressing her lips to chest. He glanced down and saw she was smiling up at him.
It always shook him to the core. It never failed to astonish him that she could look at him like she did . . . as if she adored him . . . as if she loved him.
"Thank you darling," she whispered. She stretched out and unwound herself. She slowly sat up.
"So do you think we're ready?" she asked him.
His attention was on the gentle swell of her pert breast clearly outlined in his tee-shirt. "Uh hum," he answered distractedly. As the bright morning sunlight hit the lightweight fabric, he could easily make out her splendid areoles which he knew were the exact shade of her lips, a pleasant color in-between pink and rose. Belle followed his gaze and looked down at herself.
"Oh my, this isn't decent!" she exclaimed.
"Depends what you're dressing for. Right now it looks entirely appropriate," he murmured. He debated for a moment. He really didn't have time to do anything properly. He gave her a weak smile, "I guess we need to go ahead and get up. We've a lot to do today."
Belle nodded and licked her lips. Gold sucked his breath in. With her hair tousled, her eyes still dark with sleep, her lips now moist, her ripe little body right there in front of him – she had never looked more desirable.
She shifted in the bed, swinging her legs off. "I need a quick shower. Care to join me?" she asked somehow managing to sound innocent and sexy at the same time.
Gold just about swallowed his tongue. Shit. "Yes please," he managed to answer and dutifully followed his sweet girl into the shower. So they might be a little late to breakfast. So what.
Soap and slickness. He'd thought shower sex a young man's game. Keeping your balance while supporting your woman, all the while battling the slipperiness of the tub – great way to fall and dislocate something. But Belle was all softness and cooperation. He was able to pull her against him, her back to his front. He opted to gently bend her over and she braced herself on the wall of the shower. He held her by her waist and carefully pushed into her. She gasped, struggling a bit to accommodate him in the unfamiliar position. He stroked her hair, her back, offering her soothing words, encouraging words. He felt her relax, adjusting to his bulk, then slowly he began to move in her.
At first Belle didn't like it. She didn't like not seeing his face, not seeing his eyes which would grow dark with his passion. She didn't like the position – people weren't made to join in this manner.
But then his hand reached around to touch her and she found herself pushing back onto him, then coming forward to meet the pressure of his fingers. Whoa, intense. He stopped a moment and then the shower head moved into his hand. He set it on what Belle could only assume was 'thumper' mode. The thing began shooting water out in a steady, driving, pulsing beat and, not too hard, he carefully aimed it where his fingers had just been and then began working his body against the water spray so that the two forces collided within her at the same time.
The stimulation from two directions was too much. Belle felt it building, her body tightening up, her muscles clenching.
Then she screamed. She began to spasm around him. She didn't think it would stop, the sensations deeper, stronger, lasting longer and harder than anything she had felt with him before. Her legs gave way and only his strength was there to hold her up. He dropped the shower head and using both hands on her hips allowed himself to surge and drive into her finally reaching his own release.
It was awhile before Belle managed to regain her senses and she found herself sitting gingerly on the commode seat, a trifle sore from the novel position while she dried herself off.
"Are you all right?" Gold had long since disposed of the condom and redressed himself in his boxers and a black tee-shirt.
"You always act like you think you've hurt me," she told him. "I'm fine, that was just a bit . . . overwhelming." Overwhelming? She wasn't sure if she was going to be able to dress herself, all her nerve endings had exploded and she was having to think through how to do simple movements. She needed to reach over and get the hair brush.
She had a sudden thought, "I wish I could do that thing you do where you reach out your hand and whatever you want just flies into it, like 'hairbrush'."
And to the astonishment of both of them, the hairbrush elevated from the bathroom counter and sped over to her hand.
"How did that happen?" Belle asked him, looking at the hairbrush as if it was some strange life form that had suddenly come into existence in her hand.
"I. Don't. Know," said Gold slowly. He looked hard at her, "You've never done anything like this before, have you?"
Belle shook her head, her blue eyes wide with just a touch of alarm. "What does it mean?" she asked him.
He was looking hard at her, "I'm not sure. You're past the age that new talents emerge and besides, telekinesis usually is one of the first to appear in those who have the gift."
"Should I be concerned?"
He shook his head, "No. It's relatively benign and quite a useful talent. It was one of the first that I demonstrated when I had just entered my teens." He gave a short laugh. "It was the fireballs that came soon after that scared the crap out of everybody, especially me."
+ + + The Switch
A bit late, they met up with everyone around the breakfast table. They had already packed up and would be ready to leave right after The Heist was concluded. They were to get to their stations. Emma and Jefferson were both strong enough telepaths to co-ordinate their actions with Gold. Archie would go with Emma and Belle with Gold.
They reviewed their roles and everyone set out. Gold was in possession of the news that back in Asheville, at The House, forces were beginning to gather. Regina had let him know that, on separate occasions, they had been visited by both Cora and Zelena who had wanted to see him. She and Leroy thought they had been able to stave them off but Regina knew that there would be another, likely a forceful, attempt on The House soon. He chose not to tell his people; they were nervous enough.
"I just have to stand by?" Belle asked.
"You've already done your part by finding the scroll for us," Gold told her.
"I just wish I could do more," she told him.
He looked back at her and there was a brief moment when she caught the heat in his gaze. "I think I shall have you . . . working on something soon enough," he told her.
They approached the Library for the last time. Gold still thought of it as a cold mausoleum of a building. Belle still thought of it as home.
Fifi was again at her desk, "Where is the tall young man who was with you yesterday?" she asked.
"Busy with his own projects, I'm afraid, mademoiselle," Gold explained. "This will be my last day here. I shall finish my research this morning."
Fifi looked bored and shrugged. She handed them off their badges.
Luminere was busy working on one of the computer terminals. He stood when they came in. "Putting some more of these images on line. If your research could wait about three years, all the information would be available to you on-line."
"But if I waited, I might not be the first to publish. And I wouldn't have had the pleasure of coming to this wonderful country nor the great pleasure of meeting you," Gold told him. It seemed the right thing to say.
Luminere nearly hugged the man. "Just give the library credit in your footnotes."
"I think you shall get an Author's Note at the beginning of my paper," Gold promised him. "You will let me have a last look at that Curse Manuscript before I leave?" he reminded him.
"But of course. It is one of the most interesting items we have here" Luminere told him. "Ah, Whisper. You have detected your new friend," he addressed the cat as she wandered into the room and immediately made her way to Belle. "It is quite unusual for her to take to anyone mademoiselle. I hope you realize how special this makes you."
Belle managed a quick glance at Luminere before she bent down to pet the cat, "I do Monsieur Doctor. I do."
It was after noon when Gold began to pack up, enlisting Belle's help.
"You are finished?" Luminere caught the activity.
"Yes, I believe so. I have enough information that I can put together with my other research and I'll be able to work on my paper back home."
"You wanted to see the Curse Manuscript," Luminere stated and led the way back to the second vault.
"Oh please. Miss Dupont, will you finish up here?" Gold directed Belle.
And, as according to their plan, Gold contacted Emma and Jefferson to stand by – he asked that Emma give him ten minutes.
"Yes sir," Belle answered, keeping her voice down. She had no role in the upcoming Event, but she knew what was to happen. She was very nervous but trying not to let it show. Whisper was picking up on her feelings and began to rub against her with a trilling purr that rang loudly in the otherwise quiet library.
"Merci, Chuchotera ," she said softly to the cat.
Luminere had followed Gold into the vault and the two men had taken the plain wooden box down to examine the contents.
And, as according to their plan, Archie with his environmental sensitivity, had led Emma to the key part of the city's electrical circuitry and she now dutifully imploded it calling on her Water and Fire powers.
It was then that the lights all around the inner part of the city went out. The main castle, the legislative house and, of course, The Library.
As the two men were plunged into darkness, they stood still. "Un moment," Luminere said, "the backup system should come on."
But nothing happened.
They remained in darkness. There was no light in the vault and only the little light coming through the large glass window in the hallway outside of the vault offered any visibility.
After a moment, when there was no change, Luminere peered out of the vault, "I do not understand. The backup battery should be bringing the lights back on."
But, as according to their plan, Archie had located the backup battery two days before and with his directions, Gold had been able to locate it and quietly disable it.
"This is unfortunate," Gold said. "I . . . would. . . this is inopportune," he stammered. "Would it be possible for me to take the materials out of the vault for a moment to look at them?" he asked. "Take them out by the window?"
Luminere hesitated.
Everything depended on this.
"But of course," Luminere told him. "Take it out by the window. You should have enough light there."
Gold picked up the box with the dagger handle and the scroll and carried them out of the vorpal –lined vault. Part of him was expecting some kind of psychic alarm system to be activated, for bells to go off and a siren to wail . . . but nothing happened.
But now there was another problem.
Luminere was hovering. Gold could not send the originals to Jefferson and Jefferson would not be able to send the duplicates to him. He was stuck.
Gold continued examining the scroll in the natural light coming through the window.
"Should you be checking on the black-out?" Gold asked him, trying to sound innocently interested. Luminere was not showing any signs of moving to check out the continuing lack of electricity (as they had assumed he would).
"Mais non," Luminere said with Gallic resignation. "It will be fixed when it is ready to be fixed."
Gold continued examining the scroll. Damn, he needed a diversion.
"Is beautiful, is it not?" Luminere said, standing, looking over his shoulder.
"Monsieur Doctor?" It was Belle calling to him from the original vault that Gold had been working in.
"Yes mademoiselle?" Luminere turned his attention to young woman.
"Please, a moment, sir," she said from the vault she was standing in.
"Of course," Luminere walked over to her and stepped into the vault with Belle, freeing up Gold to make the magical exchanges with Jefferson.
"Tell me, please, do you remember how Whisper got her name?" Belle asked Luminere all the while reaching up to take out one of her brown contact lenses.
"Oui," Luminere was clearly puzzled as to what was going on.
"She was found by the princess when she was just a kitten and the princess asked you to take care of her. Is that not right?" And Belle removed the second brown lens.
"Yes," Luminere was beginning to have suspicions - improbable, impossible suspicions.
"You had wanted to call her 'Fantome' or 'Spectre.'"
"How could you know this?" Luminere was astonished.
"But the princess said 'no.' The princess said that she was 'quiet, quiet as a whisper.' And that became her name."
Luminere gaped at her, "Your eyes. They are the exact color . . . "
"Of Princess Isabella," Belle looked at him and gave him her kindest smile.
"Princess! It is you! You are well! What . . ?! How?! What are you doing here?"
Belle lowered her voice. "It is very secret. You cannot tell anyone that you saw me, especially my dear father."
"But Princess?!"
Belle put her hand up to his mouth. "I've always thought of you as a friend, a true friend, someone I could rely on. There is something very important going on. I'm helping with this very important thing, but I cannot do it as the princess. I'll be home soon. Please, please tell me that you will keep my secret." Belle allowed every bit of her recently understood empathic talents to wash over the archivist. Empathy could flow both ways in the hands of a practiced practitioner or, in Belle's case, a powerful practitioner.
Luminere fell into her eyes, the deep blue, the same color as the Mediterranean that beat against the shores of Avonleigh. He could refuse her nothing.
"I will keep your secret," he promised her. "But your father. . ."
"I shall send him a letter to let him know I'm well, that I'm with friends." Belle graced the man with her biggest smile. She leaned in and gently kissed him on his cheek. "You are a true friend, Luminere. I shall always remember your kindness." And then, impulsively, she hugged him.
"I should have known. Whisper never takes to anyone. She was only ever friendly with the princess," Luminere said with tears in his eye.
Belle led him out of the vault over to Gold who stood by the window, a plain wooden box in his hand. He made eye contact with Belle.
:Perfect, my Belle. The exchanges have been made:
It gave her a momentary start to hear his voice in her head.
"Monsieur Luminere," Gold held the opened box out to the archivist. The scroll and dagger hilt were clearly visible. "I cannot thank you enough. If you ever get to Asheville, you must let me know."
"Certainement," Luminere said, still recovering from Belle's revelation. "Your Royal Highness," he addressed the princess.
Belle shook her head. "Mademoiselle, please," she corrected him.
"But of course," he said acknowledging his gaff. He walked them out of the Archive and down the marble stairs, all the way out to the front gate. He gave Belle a very slight bow before he caught her stern look for the princess it was a stern look - for anyone else it looked like a mild reminder.
"Good luck to you" Luminere told them. And then he hugged them both to Gold's consternation.
Gold was shaking his head as they walked back to the hotel. "You know, as soon as I'm able to, I'm going to give you a very passionate kiss," he said in a quiet voice to Belle.
"You don't have to thank me. I thought I could trust Luminere. He was always a good friend. And I think he likes you so he is all right with what is going on for me," she told Gold.
"Actually, I wasn't thinking about thanking you for the little distraction but that works too. It was exactly what was needed at exactly the right time. A daring effort, but it worked! You're a member of the team. You did your job. Came through when you needed to. But my darling, the very passionate kiss I want to give you has nothing to do with thanking you for your stepping up," he alerted her. "It has to do with me being able to express the feelings I have about you in a public place."
Emma and Archie were waiting for them with their luggage in the lobby of the hotel. Jefferson came down to join them, holding onto a carry-on bag.
"We got everything together. The hotel has called us a car," Emma told Belle and Gold. "The plane will be waiting for us at the airfield."
"Good job," Gold told her right as the cab (it was actually an airport limo) drove up.
They put in their luggage and drove towards the small airport. In the daylight, the pristine kingdom somehow looked smaller. They were all quiet as they rode in the vehicle that had been sent from the airport. They went through customs quietly. Belle held her breath when the customs official opened the wooden box but at that point all that everyone would see were several Avonleigh perfumes that had been secured with cushioning packing material. The illusion disguising the true contents held. They then loaded their luggage onto the small plane. Gold chatted briefly with the pilot and they all settled into the cabin. They waited until they were up in the air and climbing high to get above the mountains. Once in flight, Jefferson pulled out a large bottle of sparkling wine (Avonleigh's version of champagne).
"To celebrate our success," Jefferson said and then poured wine all around.
"Excellent. This will go well with my Dramamine," Gold said taking a glass. "Everyone, I want to make two toasts. One to this entire team for pulling together and doing their jobs."
Everyone gladly raised their glasses and drank.
"And," continued Gold, "one to Miss Belle, aka Miss Dupont, aka Princess Isabella, for stepping in at the ninth moment and saving the day with an exquisite, perfectly executed distraction. Without her quick thinking and her redoubtable efforts, all would have been lost."
"Here, here," said Archie and was seconded by the rest of the party.
Belle ducked her head. "I didn't really do anything. I just saw that Mr. Gold wasn't going to be able to do the switch without Mr. Luminere being distracted. I didn't know what else to do." She was obviously embarrassed by the attention. She glanced up at Gold and he gave her a quiet smile and raised his glass to her.
As the flight went on, Belle secluded herself and drank from her one and only glass of wine while she began working on her letter to her father. Emma sat by Gold.
"I gotta ask. What are you going to do with all that 'research'?" she asked him.
He looked up at her. "Why, publish a paper on my discoveries, of course. Shame to let all that work go to waste."
"Really? You think you can get published?"
"Why not? I've been published before. This is an area in which I have some expertise. I'll work on the paper and have it ready to go before Midsummer. "
Emma shook her head. Gold never ceased to astound her.
By the time the little plane got to Orly, Belle had a final draft of her letter ready. She took it to Gold to have him read it over to be sure she had not revealed too much.
"Looks good, dearest. Very good. You've told him you're well for the first time in your life. You're happy and safe. You've told him that you miss him and are very sorry for causing him grief, but you had to do this for the sake of your sanity and your well-being. And you've said you hope to see him again – soon. Very nice."
"I've signed it 'your precious girl, Belle.' He used to call me his 'precious girl.' I'm hoping that will convince him that it's really from me and not from some crazy person."
Gold nodded. "We'll get it mailed out from the airport."
Capable Emma helped them get an envelope and a stamp and got the letter out. Gold had saved some of the rather excellent wine and downed some of it with the first of his medication.
Emma was watching him as he began the self-medication process. "You know there's actual medication you can get for air sickness and some really good stuff you can get for nausea," Emma told him.
"Yeah, I tried them. Don't work for me. I realized early on that my problem is not air sickness or even nausea. It has to do with being propelled through a protective barrier that does not harmonize with and is actually antagonistic to my psychic make-up. The only way I've found to cope is to get completely blitzed on a combination of drugs and alcohol."
"Yeah right," Emma was skeptical. "You know mixing those things can be lethal."
Gold sighed. "There are a lot things out there that are supposed to be lethal that don't even tickle me. I'll continue taking my chances." He raised his glass to her and drained it.
Archie and Jefferson again had to assist their sorcerer landlord/boss onto the plane and got him settled next to Belle. As he leaned back in the comfortable seat, he muttered to Belle. "There may be a problem at The House," he told her.
"Oh no! What's wrong?" Belle asked him.
"Regina's mother and sister have both paid visits." Gold hesitated. "Cora sent a message to me that my father is coming to town."
"Your father?" Belle asked. When there was no reply, she kept her voice low and asked, "The arch-demon?"
"Well, maybe he's not exactly an arch-demon, just a demon." Gold took a deep breath, "Although he is an arch-arsehole."
"Do we expect trouble?" Belle asked.
"Oh yes. Daddy dearest never goes anywhere without making trouble. It's what he does."
"What kind of things can we expect?" Belle was holding his hand. There was no answer and she realized that Gold had again passed out from his self-medication regimen.
They flew into Charlotte International. David was there to meet them with a van. He'd left Regina and Leroy to hold down The House.
"How'd it go?" he asked Jefferson after helping him get Gold into the van.
"Pretty well. We had to come up with Plan B, but that's why he took Emma along I guess. She's good at that kind of thing."
Emma had settled into her seat and was soon sound asleep. Archie quickly followed, settling in and nodding off. With Gold still semi-comatose, Belle was left with David and Jefferson for the two hour drive back to Asheville.
"Mr. Gold said that Cora and Zelena had dropped by The House?" she said to David.
"So I heard. Apparently Cora and Leroy butted heads and then Zelena and Regina had an unsisterly conversation. I don't even see how those two were able to get into The House," David confirmed.
"Is everything all right now?" Belle asked him.
"It was when I left, but Regina wasn't comfortable leaving. That's why she sent me to pick you guys up – in case there was trouble."
They drove on into the night and Belle found herself dozing. She was sitting next to Gold and he had slumped over, his head falling onto her shoulder. He turned as much as the seatbelt allowed and his hand strayed under her loose-fitting top. Belle froze. She felt his hand travel up to the top of her bra and then he was pushing the top of the bra down so that his hand could cup her breast. The darkness of the vehicle concealed his actions. Belle struggled to maintain a calm demeanor – he had to know what he was doing – somehow the public nature of the activity, the possibility of discovery, the sheer naughtiness of it – all of it - was incredibly arousing. Was he aware of what he was doing – touching her, caressing her, on occasion giving her nipple a firm pinch. Belle had to bite her lip not to cry out, not to moan, not to give him away. His hand was warm, so warm, almost hot on her skin.
Belle put her hand on his thigh. She slowly dropped it to the inside of his thigh and then, gently moved up to his crotch.
Yes he was definitely aroused. She stroked him, savoring the illicitness, the power in her situation. Gold shifted and stirred. "Belle?"
"Darling, we're in the van, driving back to Asheville."
Very softly, so that she could barely understand him, "So we're not alone?"
"No dear," she whispered back to him.
"Well, damn." She felt him sigh and shift away from her, his hand giving her one last squeeze before trailing back down her blouse and finally settling over her stomach.
Belle retracted her own hand and settled in for the remainder of the trip, her body slow to cool off.
+ + + + The Cloud
It was past midnight when they pulled back into The House. David parked in front of the shop and he and Jefferson helped unload the luggage. When they turned to The House to go in, they stopped. They had to.
Difficult to see in the darkness but definitely there, like a black hole in the night, surrounding The House was a black, smoky cloud, dense and threatening, like a thundercloud come to ground. It gave off a sulfurous smell. Jefferson tentatively approached the cloud, but rapidly pulled back, bringing his hand to his mouth and gagging.
"We need help with this," he said and returned to the van. "Gold, we've got a problem."
Thx to all my reviewers (as always, lovely ideas coming from many of you):Anne Andrews (Guest), jewel415, OneMagician, CharlotteAshmore, karolprado, RaFire, spacecats, RoxyMoron, WikiSorcerer, deweymay, Grace5231973, Robin4 , cynicsquest, MyraValhallah, orthankg1, Aletta-Feather (chapter 21 & 22), Erik'sTrueAngel, and snapeygirl and
Chauchi (who has the distinction of being the 500th reviewer),
And special thanks to .kanobi (who apparently went wild and reviewed Chapters 7, 8, 9, 10,12, 13, 14, 16, 18. 17, 19, 21 and 22 )
NEXT: Gold has to handle The Cloud. He begins to consider how best to retrieve the scroll and dagger that is kept in the very dangerous Underworld. Belle learns that he does not want to take her into the Underworld.