SMOKE AND ASHES
With the assistance of Omaha, the Bocan guarding Elspeth, as well as Ruel-Miranda and Belle – and some decidedly non-interference from the Commander's Lieutenant, Gold has been able to defeat the Bocan Commander and rescue his daughter. He makes an appointment to come to accords with Rashnack, the Lieutenant. Gold and his own growing entourage then adjourn to an apartment that the Fairy Queen keeps in the city. Gold offers the now corporeal Bocan a job as Elspeth's bodyguard. He and Belle leave the child with Ruel-Miranda and Maurice to go to the meeting with the Bocans.
Maurice and Ruel-Miranda share their thoughts – Maurice is overwhelmed with the show of genuine magic and the return of the woman he knew as long-dead. Ruel-Miranda shares that she has done a number of things to save her people that she now regrets (or at least wonders if she could not have accomplished her goals in a different manner). She and Maurice decide to renew their relationship at a leisurely pace.
Gold takes Belle down to Undertown – this time without the golden collar. This is his effort to introduce his people to the woman who shall be his queen. He makes a deal with the new Bocan leader that is of benefit to all.
Unwilling to return to the apartment of the Fairy Queen, Gold decides to take Belle to an apartment that his father kept in town. With some trepidation, knowing Pan's propensities, the two make their way to the apartment in a less than sterling location.
CHANGES
Chapter 42
A.N. A little smut at the beginning of this chapter
+ + + + + + The Apartment
This was a building that had seen better days.
It had not been addressed by city or individual efforts to refurbish or restore it to its original glory. It was shabby, a rusty black and, oddly enough, set above a bridal salon. It took Belle and Gold but a moment to find the access to the second floor. As they expected, the stairwell and hall were poorly lit, dirty and smelly. Belle pulled back.
"This doesn't look particularly sanitary, Rumple. Are we sure we want to stay here?"
When had she started calling him Rumple? "Listen, I have to check it out sometime. I'm sure we'll be able to make do here for one night and, if there are problems with the place, then later I'll let you take it on as one of your projects," he promised her with a smile.
They found the entrance to the apartment, the only one on the floor, and opened the door. Gold fumbled around and found a light switch and flipped it.
They both stood a moment in stunned silence.
The place was lit by a single light hanging from a wire in the center of the ceiling.
The apartment was essentially one large room. In a nicer setting a realtor would have called it a spacious downtown loft.
This was not a nicer setting.
In one corner was a 'kitchen' complete with an orange-streaked sink, a grimy counter with a mini-fridge underneath it and a microwave and a plug-in electric eye on top. Reminded Belle vaguely of the little set-up Gold had in the back of his shop. There was a beat-up metal table with two very beat-up metal chairs with damaged vinyl covered seats and backs set next to the 'kitchen.' In another corner was a large bed, a stained mattress sitting on a basic frame lacking foot or head boards. It was unmade, with some sheets wadded up on it. There was a dirty sofa with uneven pillows set against the wall opposite the door. There was one other door which Belle assumed led to a bathroom. The walls of the loft were yellowed, partly covered by vestiges of faded torn wallpaper, some of the paper hanging in strips that blossomed out from the wall like leaves on a wilting plant. The floor consisted of a chipped linoleum area in the kitchen and a spongy brown carpet covering the rest of the room. There was a row of windows set high in the wall that let in the lights from the night and from the street.
Belle sighed. "Why does it smell so funny? It's almost like cat urine or ammonia?"
Gold looked over at her. "You didn't run into this when you were on the run?" he asked. She shook her head. "They've cooked meth in here, my dear," he told her.
"Do we call the police?" she asked. "I mean the place is now yours."
"Nothing can be done now and involving the police will make things unnecessarily messy. No," Gold said, "I think it best if we just give the place a thorough cleaning." And he waved his hand and about twenty tiny whirlwinds sprang up and began to move rapidly all over the room. Gold added some mini-water sprouts that began to work on the floor, the kitchen sink and disappeared into the bathroom. Belle watched fascinated as some of them began to whirl through the mattress on the bed and in and out of the poor old sofa that graced the room. The process took more than ten minutes but by the time it was done, the room smelled like lemons and was visibly cleaner.
Belle shook out the sheets, now at least smelling clean and made the bed. "This place needs to be emptied out and completely re-done," she told Gold.
"I quite agree. Can you tough it out here for one night?"
"You forget, I've slept in worst places," she told him.
He had to smile, "So have I." He watched her as she began to strip down to her plain cotton underwear. After some obvious hesitation she checked out the bathroom and opted for a quick sink bath rather than risking a shower in the questionable shower stall.
Gold followed suit and when he came out, in his undershirt and boxers, he turned off the light and joined her in the bed.
"This mattress is long past redemption," she complained.
"Here," and again Gold drew on his magic to plump up the mattress.
"How do you do that?" she asked relaxing into the now cushiony bed.
"I just think airy thoughts. It only has to last through one night." And he pulled her over to him to kiss her directly on the mouth.
"Do you think the Bocans will keep the peace?" she asked. He kissed her neck. "I'm wondering. Rashnack - I read as being someone who wants peace but I think that not all of his people are like him." And Gold kissed her on the delicate pulse point where her neck joined with her shoulder. "He'll be a big improvement over that Commander, that's for sure."
Gold stopped and looked at her in the soft light that was filtering through the high windows. "Shut up," he told her and addressed himself again to kissing her mouth.
+ + + + + Showering
Gold had gotten up very early and decided to chance a shower in the now moderately clean bathroom. He looked around. The toilet had been cleaned. The sink was a tiny affair with visible pipes coming out of the wall. The mirror above the sink was chipped and de-silvered and provided only a foggy reflection. There was a dull silver shelf placed above the toilet with a couple of towels neatly folded sitting on the shelf. There was no bathtub, only a walk-in shower stall. The shower head was one of the older types of shower massagers. He turned on the water and was gratified it came out hot. He adjusted the temperature and the massager so that it was giving his shoulders a thumping massage. He had already soaped up and had closed his eyes to stand under the spray to rinse off. He was certainly enjoying the hot water.
. . . .
He felt her first, delighted to find that he had been joined by a very warm and slippery Belle. She was giggling and kissing him on the shoulder.
"Are you jumping me in the shower?" he had to ask.
"I am," she admitted and wrapped her arms around him. Surprised and pleased to find that despite a night of dissipation he was still able to show some genuine interest in his little paramour Gold now lent his full attentions to his Belle. He turned and wrapped his arms around her, enjoying the feel of her plump breasts pressing into his chest. She was pressing her lips to just below his neck, a very pleasant occurrence. He allowed her to demonstrate her affections for a moment then tilted her head up so that he could kiss her on the lips. She was now laughing in the warm pulsing spray of the shower, the water having flattened her hair to her head. He had to smile down at her and slowly backed her up against the wall of the shower.
"You play a dangerous game, miss, interrupting a man at his shower," he told her trying to be threatening.
"Oh dear," Belle's eyes were twinkling. "I suppose he'll demand some sort of recompense," she was still laughing.
"Oh, I'm sure he will," he answered as he allowed his hands to slip over her wet body. He took a turn to grasp her firm rounded butt cheeks.
"Ow," she jerked as he squeezed her, pulling her even closer to him, her stomach cushioning his burgeoning erection. "Probably he'll want to do something drastic," she whispered.
"Likely," he had her backed her up so that she was flush against the wall. He lifted her slightly to gain access. "I'm thinking he'll want to do something physical to take out his frustrations. Perhaps a spanking . . ." he suggested.
He entered her slick, ready passage and he felt her legs go around his hips and heard her give a short cry, the same cry she often gave when he took her.
"Or perhaps some other type of pounding," she managed to gasp out and placed both of her arms above his shoulders and wrapped them around his neck.
"Precisely," he told her hoping his leg would hold up.
It was a bit rough going for both of them. Somehow there seemed a sense of urgency and he drove into her, his pace quickening as he heard her make sweet little sounds each time he pushed her back against the shower stall.
Then he stopped.
"What?!" she was breathless. "What?!" She'd been getting close and she was darn sure he hadn't finished.
Oh, but he had that very sexy smile he would get from time to time. She could dimly make it out through the spray of the shower. What was he doing?
"I just had an idea," he told her and pulled away from her causing her to moan. He turned her around and gently pushed her so that she was bent over and presenting her lovely rear to him. He found his way again and with Belle bracing herself against the wall, quickly ramped up his efforts. He reached up and pulled down the shower head, taking a brief moment to adjust the head to a hard pulsating action. He held it in front of her, so that the water spray hit her sensitized mound. It took just a moment and she began to scream, the double stimulation taking her quickly over. He could feel her squeezing him, pulsating around him.
But he was determined to take her one level higher and didn't pull the shower massage away despite her frantic efforts to slow him up and stop the stimulation. It was less than a minute later when she began to scream again, a series of several sharp cries. She nearly collapsed in his arms and had he not been holding her up she would have sunk to the floor.
Her second release was all he'd needed to send himself over the top, "Damnation, Belle," he had cried out. Somehow he managed to reattach the showerhead while supporting Belle who seemed to be melting. He helped her to stand upright and gently turned her around.
She fell onto him still breathing hard.
"Belle, are you crying?" he asked. "If I hurt you . . ."
"Oh no. I was just . . . just overcome. I've never had . . . two that close . . . together."
"So you're all right?"
"Really all right," she managed to look up at him and smile. "I'll be all right for a while," she promised him.
He helped her out of the shower, pulling a thinning towel off a high shelf to wrap around her.
She grabbed another towel to help dry her hair. "Do you think we might be able to get back into the building to see what we can salvage. I hate all our clothes were there . . . oh, and Elspeth's sparkly shoes. She never got a chance to wear them."
He had finished drying off and was putting his clothes on from the day before, "I thought she was saving those to wear at our wedding."
"We'll have to get her another pair," Belle looked over at him, "won't we?"
Gold looked at her. He knew what she was asking, "Definitely, if they didn't survive, we'll get her another pair right away," Gold promised her.
"How about all your stuff? The antiques, the magical thingys, your clothes? Do you think all that's destroyed?"
"The House will have saved anything it thought was important," he told her. "Everything else can be replaced. The important thing is that no one was hurt."
"Except you now have three Bocans miniaturized in your Artifacts Room!" Belle suddenly remembered. "What are you going to do with them?"
"I'll have to have Ruby or someone run them back down to Rashnack," he said. "It'll be up to him what he wants to do with them."
As they had arranged the night before, they walked down to breakfast at the Green Sage Café, just up the street from Pan's disreputable domicile and met up with Ruel-Miranda, Maurice, Omaha and, of course, Elspeth.
"Daddy!" she broke away from Maurice and ran to Gold who stooped and with some effort after his morning exertions picked her up.
"Elspeth!" he greeted her. "Did you sleep well?"
"I did. Did you?" she asked him guilelessly.
Belle blushed, but Gold smiled and responded, "I did. Let's have some breakfast first and then we'll go check out The House."
Belle always liked the atmospheric little restaurant. She ordered the Apple Sunflower Oatmeal with a sixteen ounce Café au Lait and Elspeth, at Belle's suggestion got a small order of buttermilk pancakes with strawberry garnish. They then engaged in a lively discussion of what to get Elspeth to drink with the child finally deciding on just milk. Gold got lox on a bagel with sides of eggs and sweet potato home fries and, of course, black tea to drink. Miranda got the granola yogurt parfait with a Chai Latte and Maurice the Sunrise Plate with toast. He debated between the sweet potato home fries and the grits.
"I've never had grits," he admitted. "What are they like?"
"Polenta," Belle told him, "but less firm. You'll like them."
"All right, grits then," he told the waitress. "And a large coffee Americano."
Omaha sat staring at the menu.
"Well sugah," the waitress addressed him. "What looks good to you?"
"It all looks good, ma'am," he told her, a slight pleasant Midwestern twang coming through. "What would you suggest?"
The waitress pointed to the Breakfast Burrito, "You can have that fixed to order. You get scrambled eggs with black beans, spinach, home fries and salsa with your choice of cheese. A lot of people like the habanero jack. If you like spicy hot I'd suggest that."
"That sounds delicious. I'll try that," Omaha told her.
"You can add sausage, bacon or tempeh to it," the waitress continued.
"How about sausage then," Omaha finished up his order.
"Great choice. Now, darlin' whacha want to drink?"
"Wow, there are so many things to choose from," Omaha said looking over the beverage menu. "I'll take this drip coffee. It sounds like what I'm used to."
"You betcha," the waitress said and went off to put in their orders.
"She was totally into you," Belle said to Omaha after the waitress had left.
"What?" Omaha connected with her eye gaze but seemed quite bewildered.
"Well look at yourself. You cleaned up nicely, really nicely" Belle told him. And the young man, now with his hair combed and his face washed was a generous treat for the eyes. His black jeans fit on him snug and secure and his black t-shirt was stretched out across his chest and fit tightly over his arm muscles.
The group enjoyed a good breakfast and decided to go and check on The House. They walked down from Broadway to Walnut (with Omaha carrying Elspeth and her teddy) and then down to Lexington. When they got to The House, Belle, Maurice and Ruel-Miranda were surprised that they saw very little damage.
But somehow the building looked shorter.
And what had happened to the blackened brick?
There were no longer any restrictions on getting back into the building so they all went in. It was as if nothing had happened.
As soon as they stepped across the threshold into Gold's shop, they were met by Lovecraft.
"Kitty!" Elspeth immediately wanted down to chase the cat who jumped on the counter out of her reach.
"Relax Lovecraft," Gold told the cat walking over to the animal curled up by the register and out of Elspeth's reach. "Everything is back to normal," then he added, "or as normal as things ever get around here. Allow me to introduce some people." Gold turned back to the group, "This is Miranda, also known as Ruel Ghorm, the Queen of the Fairies . . . yes, that's right, my arch-nemesis . . . well, things have apparently changed. Turns out she is Miss Belle's mother," Gold seemed to be responding to the cat. "And this is His Royal Majesty King Maurice, also known as Moe. He's Miss Belle's father." He paused, "That's right. And this strapping young man is . . . oh, you know?" And Omaha gingerly approached the animal and patted it on the head. "You'll be pleased to know I've hired him as Elspeth's . . . uh . . . bodyguard . . . yeah . . . until she can take care of herself, of course." He turned back to the group, "Everyone, this is Lovecraft. He's the guardian spirit for this house."
Miranda-Ruel nodded her head respectfully towards the creature who made eye contact and then trilled her a "meow." Gold muttered , "traitor," under his breath.
"This is a big cat," Omaha remarked.
"He's very gentle," Belle told him as she also went forth to pet Lovecraft.
"Listen, I'm going to go up the stairs to see how things are looking," Gold told the group. "Belle, why don't you show them around the shop."
Maurice was looking around the shop, "I came into this place earlier. It looks the same. I don't see any evidence that there's been a fire."
"I don't know how much of the fire, smoke and water got down to this floor," Belle said. "This place is huge. I'll show you some of the rooms down here. It's fascinating."
+ + + + The House
Gold had made it up to his apartment. He went inside and looked around. Everything was as it should be – furnishings, carpets, clothes. Gold checked and found Belle's copy of Pride and Prejudice. Then he found the storage box that he kept the scrolls and dagger pieces in. The ones he had were intact. He knew the other pieces were in a bank vault. And of course there was still that last scroll and dagger piece that Ruel had.
He considered. With her being Belle's mother . . . well, that changed things. He would have more time, the luxury of caution to find the missing pieces. He just needed to find a way to spend more time in (he shuddered) Fairyland. He checked out the rest of the apartment. All of Elspeth's possessions, including her sparkly shoes, were there.
Gold went back out of his own apartment and went across the hall. The conference room was gone and there were now two small apartments. One was furnished with simple wooden furnishings, an extra-long bed, a dresser, a kitchen table with chairs and other basics. The other contained similar furnishings, but they were somehow more feminine than the other apartment. Gold smiled. No wonder Lovecraft knew about Omaha – The House was already prepared for him – and for Zelena.
Gold went back down and checked out the other apartments. The House was missing two of the middle floors. As he got to the second floor above the shop, he encountered Jefferson.
"Yeah, I know, weird, huh?" Jefferson greeted him. "I got back in yesterday. People were all prepared to move out and The House just took care of things for them. Saves a lot in pizza and beer for your moving buddies."
"They were moved out?" Gold asked. He knew about Ruby, Milah, Leroy and, of course, Hook. But David and Mary Margaret? He thought they had been house hunting – they must have found a place. And Regina? Maybe things had worked out with her police chief. But Ashley? Oh yes, she was about to go back to school – maybe things had come together there.
"So who's left?" he asked Jefferson as they walked the hallway.
Jefferson stepped into Emma's apartment before answering. "Zelena, you might as well come out and face the music." Jefferson turned back to Gold, "Well, you and Belle of course. And there's me and Emma and Archie and Zelena still."
"I guess The House feels that we're out of our crisis."
"I guess," Jefferson shrugged his shoulders. Zelena had timidly come out of Emma's apartment.
"I'm so sorry," she was not making eye contact with Gold. "It was all my fault. I should have been more vigilant. I should have been more careful."
"I understand you were attacked by three Bocans and hit with a sleeping spell," Gold said softly.
"I don't really know. I don't have any memory of what happened," she confessed. She was managing to look genuinely contrite.
"Elspeth remembered and she spoke up on your behalf," Gold told her. "Come on, I've made some arrangements so that perhaps this won't happen again."
"I'll change and be downstairs in a moment," Zelena promised and she shut the door.
Jefferson turned back to Gold, "The House moved me in with Emma,"
"And how does she feel about that?' Gold asked him as they started down the stairs.
"Not saying much, she's letting it all appear as if it's The House's decision and nothing to do with her."
"That sounds like Emma," Gold observed.
They had come back into the shop. Gold announced, "The House has a way of taking care of its people and their things. Belle, everything is fine." He went behind his counter to check out his receipts and organize them appropriately - he appreciated Jefferson and Emma minding the store from time to time, but neither had any sense of organization.
"Everything?" Belle asked.
"Everything," he answered, looking up.
Maurice gave a sigh. "I really need to get in touch with my major domo, Cogsworth. I'm sure he's stroking about my disappearance. And I need to let him know that I've located the princess." Maurice was already dialing.
"Miranda," Belle addressed her mother quietly. "What are your plans now?"
"Excellent question. Your father and I want to begin seeing each other again. Now that he understands, we are considering working out some arrangement for me to be with him for six months and then back in Fairyland for six months or maybe just going back and forth every other week. We have several options we're considering."
"That sounds splendid. I know daddy will want to have you back in his life."
"And how about your life, Belle? Do you want me . . . in your life?" Ruel-Miranda seemed unsure of herself.
"I think so. I know that you and Gold have a lot of hard feelings and I don't see you two ever being close, but I don't think he'll discourage me from getting to know my mother."
Ruel-Miranda considered. "He really has changed Belle. You can't imagine how much." She stood quietly a moment. "I think I would like to have all of you as guests at my palace. I'll give you directions to create a portal that will allow you to come and go."
At that moment, Zelena arrived down the stairs. She had put on a long skirt and simple tank top dressing much like Belle.
"Ah, Zelena," Gold saw her. "I want you to meet Omaha." Then he turned to the tall young man, "Omaha, this is Zelena. She'll be working with you to take care of Elspeth."
"Ma'am," Omaha nodded at Zelena.
"Wow, I mean, nice to meet you," Zelena gushed.
"I'll fill you in about Omaha later. He may have some adjustment issues that he'll need help with," Gold explained.
"Whatever he needs, I'll be happy to oblige," Zelena offered.
Maurice had finished up with his call and had gone over to Gold. "Most amazing thing ever. All the while I've been gone, Cogsworth has been getting texts from me, keeping him updated."
"So?" Gold replied.
"I haven't been sending him any texts."
Gold had to smile. "Could have been any number of agents," he glanced at Ruel-Miranda who shook her head. "Perhaps, Lovecraft?" but the cat was not to be found.
"The cat?" Maurice asked.
"That may look like a cat and act like a cat, but that is not a cat," Gold responded. "It is a very old, even ancient creature. They're found wherever these Houses are, where the magical energy lines, the lei lines, come together. The House changes its appearance depending on what is around it. As I understand it, this House has been a stone circle, a medicine lodge and a small log home all before becoming what it is today. And it still changes to meet the needs of the time. Lovecraft will take on other burdens from time to time. It would be quite within his repertoire to keep your Cogsworth at ease so that you could finish your task," Gold explained.
"Well, it's all amazing," Maurice pronounced. He hesitated. "Miranda and I are talking about maybe getting together again., working out some kind of arrangement. I'm going to return with her to . . . " he paused at the awkward word, "Fairyland. We'll see where we go from there."
"Nice," Gold responded non-committedly.
"I think we'll head back today, especially if you and Belle are going to be coming for a visit," Maurice said guilelessly.
"Belle and I are coming for a visit?" Gold asked. News to him. Was that what Belle and Ruel had been discussing?
"Miranda wanted to get to know her daughter better and apparently you come with her."
"That I do," Gold said glancing over at Belle.
Maurice and Ruel-Miranda soon made their goodbyes with Maurice getting a surprise hug from Elspeth.
Jefferson went up with Belle and Gold, also accompanied by an animated Elspeth who was showing Omaha the building and Zelena, trailing after.
"I want to watch 'toons," she said and Zelena agreed.
After setting the child up in Gold's apartment, Zelena was surprised and touched to find a small apartment had been assigned to her across the hall from Gold's apartment.
The House is going to let me stay?" Zelena asked, rather puzzled standing outside in the hallway.
"Apparently," Gold told her. "You must have passed muster with The House."
Zelena was obviously touched. "This is something I never expected." Gold was surprised to see tears on the young woman's face. "You've been so nice to me, especially after what I tried to do to you. I don't deserve any of this."
Gold debated a moment but then put what he hoped was a fatherly arm around Zelena. "Belle would tell you that everyone should have a second chance."
"You're nicer to me in a day than my mother was to me in a month," Zelena told him. "I"ll never forget what all you've done for me." Zelena dried her tears, wiping her face on her sleeve. "Will this other apartment belong to Omaha?" she asked on behalf of the stoic bodyguard who was standing looking around the hallway.
"Apparently," Gold confirmed. "I guess . . . if he wants it," and he opened the door to the second apartment.
"This is very nice, sir," Omaha answered peering into the place.
"Perhaps this evening, we can go onto the roof, Omaha," Gold told him. "I want to see what kinds of talents you may have."
"Yes sir," the tall man responded.
"Why don't you two go and check out your apartments and then come back over and join us for supper," Gold suggested.
Back in Gold's apartment, Belle had made her way back to the bedroom and changed her clothes. When she came out she was wearing her pretty yellow skirt with a blue top. She could feel Gold's eyes pass over her. "I felt grungy wearing the same clothes I've had on now forever. I just wanted to change," she told him.
"You always look beautiful," he assured her.
"Are you all right with us going to Fairyland as official visitors," Belle asked anxiously. "If you're not, I'll send my regrets."
"Belle you want this?" he asked.
"I think so. It gives me a chance to find out more about this other part of me. It's not been easy finding out I'm half-fairy. I don't even know what that means. How did you find out . . . about your father?" she asked him.
"He contacted me when I started to manifest some talent. He took me into the Underworld and showed me off. That was pretty much it."
"But everyone in the Underworld treated you like the crown prince? "
Gold shrugged. "I really don't think my father ever planned to not be here, to not be the king. But he thought it was a good idea to have an heir, I guess."
"Do we take Elspeth . . . and Omaha . . . and Zelena?" Belle asked.
"Why not? Might as well have fun while we're there," he told her.
Thanks so much to those reviewers who have hung in there with me: Erik'sTrueAngel, jewel415, Aletta-Feather, DruidKitty, OUATWhoLock, Anne Andrews (Guest), orthankg1, RaFire, MyraValhallah, thedoctorsgirl42, Grace5231973, deweymay, and Chauchi. This story is beginning to wind down (just the pivotal climax to go and then loose ends)
NEXT: Omaha's powers are tested
Belle (and Gold) begin to have some second thoughts about going to Fairyland
Belle goes shopping