The next morning, Rumple went up to the hill to watch the sunrise with Rose while Belle prepared breakfast. While he combed out her hair, she asked about the man that broke into the castle the night before. He brushed it off, saying that she didn't need to worry about him. He was going to teach the thief a lesson about trying to steal from the Dark One. When Rose wasn't paying attention, Rumple waved a hand over her head and cast a spell. It would block out any noise from the dungeons. He didn't want her to know what was going on. Rose left it alone and went on to tell him about her dream that involved a fairy princess and a unicorn.

They went inside for breakfast afterwards. When they were done, he sent her off with Belle. He went down into he dungeon to deal with the intruder. Rose followed Belle around as she went about cleaning the castle. Belle was doing the laundry when the screaming started. She was startled when she first heard it. The man was screaming bloody murder. As she hung the clothes on the line, the screaming continued. She noticed that Rose wasn't bothered by the screaming. Was this something she was accustomed to? Is this what she had to live with her entire life? Belle was sweeping up when Rumple emerged from the dungeon. Rose was out playing in the garden, so she didn't see her papa enter wearing a blood-stained apron.

"I'm going to need another apron." He threw a pair of gloves on the table. She stopped sweeping and turned to him.

"They're on the line drying. It'll be some time." He removed the apron and threw it on the table as well.

"Fine, fine. Get to cleaning this one as well. I'll be back later." He headed out of the room when Belle spoke what was on her mind.

"All this because h tried to steal a magic wand?" He turned back to her.

"No, because he tried to steal from me. The Dark One. You try that, you get skinned alive. Everybody knows that."

"What about Rose? Does she know that?" Rumple's anger sparked as his eyes narrowed at her.

"What gives you the right to bring my daughter into this?"

"Because she acts like nothing is wrong. All day you've been torturing that poor man and Rose hasn't once reacted to his screaming. Have you done this so much that it doesn't even phase her?"

"How dare you?! Do you honestly believe that I would expose my four-year-old daughter to anything that involves me acting as the Dark One?! Did it ever occur to you that maybe I made it so she couldn't hear the screams?! I keep her as far away from these things as possible! If you think that I am as impulsive and uncaring as to expose her to things that she doesn't understand, then you aren't as smart as you think, dearie! And if you ever question how I raise my daughter again, it'll be your screams I'll keep her from hearing!" He turned and left. Belle stood there stunned. That would explain it. Why would she think otherwise? She had only been at the castle for a couple of week, but she knew that Rumple loved and cared for Rose more than anything. How could she think he would let Rose know about the evil things he did?

"Belle!" She was brought from her thoughts by the child's voice. She turned and saw Rose running to her. "Belle! Belle! Come see!"

"What is it?"

"Come see! Come see!" Belle put down the broom and followed the excited girl out to the garden. Rose led Belle to the rose bushes. She went over to one and pulled back the leaves. Belle looked inside and saw a bird's nest with four eggs inside.

"Bird eggs. Looks like they're going to hatch any day. How long have they been here?"

"I just found them. What kind of babies are going to hatch?"

"I don't know. We'll just have to wait and see, but you can't touch them."

"Why?"

"If the mother smells your scent on the eggs, she won't come back."

"Why?" Belle chuckled at the many questions.

"It's just animals' nature."

"Oh. Okay. I won't touch them." Rose closed the bush and she and Belle went back inside. Belle's thought went back to the thief in the dungeon. She couldn't just let him be tortured and killed. She wanted to release him, but she couldn't let Rose know. She needed to distract her.

"Rose?" The child looked up to her. "Isn't it about time for your midday snack?"

"I think so." Belle led her to the kitchen and gave her a basket.

"Why don't you go out into the garden and pick out the strawberries you want?" She smiled and took the basket.

"Okay!" She ran out of the kitchen and out to the garden. When Belle was sure she was outside, she fixed a cup of water and went down the dungeon. She gave him the water to drink and released him. He offered to take Belle and Rose with him, but she declined.

"What of the child's parents? They must miss her." Even though Belle was angry with Rumple, she wouldn't let the man know Rose was his daughter. She understood he wanted to protect her and she would help protect her.

"She's mine. I was pregnant with her when I came to serve him and he allowed her to stay. If we leave, we may survive, but the rest of my family sure won't."

"Then I can only wish the two of you luck."

"Hurry. Go." He left the dungeons. Belle followed to make sure Rose didn't see him. Once he was gone, Rose came in from the garden with a basket full of large, fresh strawberries.

"I picked a lot of big ones!" Belle smiled at her.

"That, you did. Let's get these cleaned." She took the berries into the kitchen and rinsed them off while Rose sat at the table. She took a small bowl out of the cabinet and placed it on the counter. She cut the tops off and placed the berries in the bowl. When she was done, she placed the bowl on the table in front of Rose.

"Thank you." She picked up a berry and stuck it in her mouth. Belle giggled at the sight.

"You're welcome." She cleaned up the mess and sat next to Rose. Rose pushed the bowl the Belle to share her snack. She smiled as she took one from the bowl. They sat eating the fruit and talking about random topics that Rose brought up. Belle still couldn't believe this sweet and innocent child was raised by a man who was torturing another man to death. A lot of things didn't add up and she would forever question them, but there was one thing she knew for sure; Rumple loved Rose. He would go to the ends of the earth for her. He would even die for her.

They finished off the berries and Belle cleaned up the small mess Rose made. Rose followed Belle as she finished up the last of the cleaning. Belle went in search of a book to read. She looked on the book shelf and pulled out a book titled "A Girl Named Disaster." She questioned why Rumple had such a book. It didn't look like something he would read himself and it was a bit thick and complex for a children's book. She sat on the small couch and opened the book. Before she started, she felt Rose leaning over her. She looked at the child and smiled.

"Is there something you need, Rose?"

"What are you doing?"

"I was about to read. Do you need me to get you anything?"

"Can you read this to me?" She looked at the back, then back to Rose.

"I don't think you would understand a lot of it."

"I know, but I want you to read to me." Belle wanted to say something, but it was lost. Rose just wanted to be with someone. Since Rumple was still out, Belle was the only other person there.

"Okay. Come on." Rose climbed up and sat on Belle's lap. Belle opened the book again and started to read out loud.

"'Crouched on a branch of a mukuyu tree, a girl tore open a speckled fruit. She grimaced as ants scurried over her fingers. So many! And the inside was full of worms, too.'"

"Eww." Belle chuckled at the child's reaction.

"I know. 'Even Nhamo, hungry as she was, couldn't eat it. She dropped it to the ground and searched for another cluster of figs.'" Belle continued to read, pausing to answer questions that Rose had about the story. They got through the first three short chapters when Rumple returned. Belle and Rose looked up as he entered the room.

"I have returned." Rose smiled at him.

"Hi, Papa. Belle is reading me a story."

"Is she now? Are you enjoying it?" She eagerly nodded. "Good."

"You wanna read with us?" He looked to Belle with a bit of anger from their earlier conversation, then smiled at his daughter.

"I would love to, flower, but I have some unfinished business to attend to. Perhaps another time."

"Okay, Papa." She then turned her attention to the book, trying to decipher the words she didn't understand. Rumple and Belle shared a glance for a moment, then Belle turned her attention to the book as well. Rumple headed down the dungeon. Belle saw and grew a bit nervous. She knew he would furious when he saw the thief was gone. She continued to read to Rose.

"Belle!" Both Belle and Rose jumped at the sound of Rumple yell. Belle knew that the thief was gone and she was prepared to face him. He re-entered the room and strode over to the reading pair. "Where is he?!"

"Gone. I let him go."

"What?! He was a thief!" Belle held onto Rose. She somehow felt safer with the child. Rose felt this and didn't know what to do. She had never seen her papa this way and she was a little afraid of literally being in the middle of the argument.

"That doesn't give you the right to kill him." In that moment, Rumple had forgotten that Rose was even there. He was focused solely on his anger for his maid and only saw her.

"It gives me every right! Oh, let me guess. You think he's a hero! Stealing from me for some noble cause! You read too many books, dearie!" He waved his hand over the book in her hands and it disappeared in a purple smoke. "There! Maybe that will stop filling your head with poisonous thoughts!"

"I didn't free him because of what I read in my books. I saw good in him. That man only wanted to escape with his life."

"Oh, is that what you thought? Our thief escaped with more than his life." He gestured to the empty stand where the magic wand was supposed to be. Rose and Belle saw the wand was missing. Belle stood and moved Rose from her lap to the seat beside her. She was frozen with fear. She wanted to get up and run out of the room, but she was afraid Rumple would yell at her or worse. She had never been so afraid of her papa. "You were tricked! You foolish gullible girl!"

"There must be an explanation. We don't know why he needed that wand."

"He took the wand because he wanted magic! People who steal magic never have good intentions!" Belle approached him.

"No! No! You can't tell what's in a person's heart until you truly know them!"

"Oh, we'll see what's in his heart, alright, when I shoot an arrow straight through it! And because I am a showman..." He produced the thief's bow in his hand. "It'll be with his bow! And because this is your fault, you get to come with me and watch and know as the blood drips from his caucus! It'll be you and your rags to wipe it up!"

He stormed out of the room. Rose let out a soft whimper as tears fell from her eyes. Belle turned around, remembering that she was in the room. She had just witnessed the entire ordeal. Belle rushed to her side.

"Rose..." She looked at Belle with tears heavily in her eyes.

"Papa's mad. He's gonna hurt us." Belle understood the child was frightened and was thinking the worst at this moment. She remembered when she was younger and her parents would argue in front of her. It was a scary place to be.

"No, he's not. You know he would never hurt you. He was just angry with me. He won't do anything to you."

"I'm scared." Rose threw her arms around Belle and Belle hugged her.

"It's okay. You don't need to be afraid. Your papa loves you and he would never hurt you for any reason. You know that." The child continued to cry into her shoulder. She needed to convince her that Rumple couldn't hurt her if he tried. And there was only one way to do that. She pulled Rose from her shoulder and stood up. She took the young girl's hand and helped her stand. She led her to Rumple's tower where she was sure he would be. Rose hid behind Belle as she opened the door. Like she thought, he was there re-stringing the bow. He looked up and saw her.

"What do you want?!" Belle tried to pull Rose from behind her, but the child clung tightly to her long dress. Rumple saw this and his eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"She was in the room when he had our little argument. She's afraid you're going to hurt her." He looked to his daughter and stood up.

"Rose?" She poked out her head, but stayed behind Belle. He felt hurt that she actually thought he would, that he could, hurt her. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he hurt her. "Flower, you don't have to be afraid. You know I would never hurt you."

"You were yelling."

"I was angry, but not at you. And if I were, I couldn't hurt you if I tried. It would hurt me more to know I did you any harm. Please don't be scared of me, flower. Don't be afraid of your papa." Rose slowly moved from behind Belle. She looked up at her and Belle nodded for her to go. She turned back to Rumple and walked over to him. He kneeled and held out his hand to her. She took it and looked at him. He looked her straight in the eyes. "I promise you this, flower. As long as I live, as long as I am your papa, as long as I love you, I will never, ever harm you in any way. You are my precious flower and I will only love, protect, and care for you. Don't you ever fear me."

Rose wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. Rumple sighed in relief and hugged her in return. Belle smiled at the sight and left the two of them alone. She still may have thought of him as an evil beast at times, but he was still the most loving and dedicated father she's ever seen.

Excerpt from "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer