Belle was able to make Rose forget about her mother for the rest of the day and put her to sleep. Once she was down, Belle went down to the dungeon with a bowl of soup and a cup of water. She may have been angry at the woman for what she did to Rose, but she wouldn't let her starve. She opened the door and she Elizabeth sitting against the wall fully conscious. She looked up at her former friends with her cold emerald eyes.

"What do you want?"

"I brought you something to eat. You must be hungry." She placed the bowl and cup in front of her.

"I'm not." Belle looked at her in confusion and anger.

"I'm only trying to help. You've been a doll for the past four years. You need to restore your strength."

"Why? So the Dark One can kill me? If you really wanted to help me, you would let me go so I may return home."

"You know I can't do that. And he won't kill you. I won't allow that."

"Because he would listen to you, his maid. His property. What makes you think you can stop him from doing what he does best?" Belle knew why she would think that way. Rumple was known torture and kill those who wronged him. She saw that with Robin Hood and the wand. She was only able to convince him not to kill him because he stole for a good reason. He wanted to save his pregnant wife. She could defend the thief. Belle didn't know how to defend Elizabeth. She got rid of Rose to protect her good name. She had no other reason. It would be difficult to find a reason for him not to harm her.

"He may not listen to me. He never really does. Looks like your only chance is the daughter you tried to have killed."

"You expect that bastard to save me?" Belle had enough of her referring to Rose as a mere bastard child.

"Her name is Rose and she is a wonderful, sweet, and beautiful child! You would know that if you actually raised her and loved her instead of trying to get rid of her! Of course, who knows how she would've turned out being raised by someone like you! She could have turned out just as cold hearted and cruel! It really says something when the bloody Dark One is a better parent than you'll ever be! All she's ever wanted was a mother to love her and care for her and want her and that will never be you!" Elizabeth was a bit shocked at the former princess's outburst. She then narrowed her eyes at her.

"And I suppose you're her mother now? You've taken ownership of her? How do you think that looks for you to take in someone else's child? If your association with the Dark One wasn't bad enough, this will tarnish your reputation."

"And I could care less. I'm never allowed to leave this castle, so it makes no difference to me. Even if I were to leave, I still wouldn't care because I love Rose. She's my daughter now and all I care about is her. You will never understand that sort of love and commitment." Belle turned and left the dungeon, slamming the door behind her and locking it. She stood against the wall and took a breath. Elizabeth could never understand loving a child. She could never understand love. They were both raised to believe that marriage and childbearing was all there was to a royal woman's life. There was no room for passion or love. All they were meant to do was bear sons and make their husbands look good. Belle never believed that, but Elizabeth always did what she was told.

Belle left the dungeon and returned upstairs. She decided to check on Rose to make sure she was okay and not having another one of her night terrors. She quietly cracked open her door and peaked inside. Rose was sound asleep in her bed. She wasn't stirring or whimpering. She was okay. Belle still couldn't believe someone as cold and heartless as Elizabeth could give birth to such a wonderful and sweet child. They were nothing alike and Belle was thankful for that. She closed the door back and went on to finish up the last of her chores. She cleaned up the kitchen and the dishes and wiped down the table. She swept the Great Hall and dusted Rumple's collection of strange artifacts. Once she was finished, she went to check on Rose one last time before retiring. Rose was still peacefully asleep. Belle then went to her new bedroom and went to sleep.

The next morning, Belle woke up earlier than usual. The sun had not risen over the horizon yet. She felt something warm next to her. She looked over and saw Rose cuddled up in her blanket. When did she get there? Belle figured she must have had another bad dream and climbed into bed with her. She gently stroked her hair from her face and her eyes popped open. Belle lightly gasped, then smiled.

"Good morning, Rose."

"Morning, Mama." Belle was still getting used to that.

"It's a bit early. The sun hasn't come out yet." Rose started to climb out of the bed.

"I know. Come on or we're gonna miss it." Belle sat up.

"Miss what?"

"The sun. Me and Papa watch the sun every morning." So that's what they did in the garden. They were watching the sunrise together. Belle thought it was sweet.

"And you want me to watch it with you?" She nodded. Belle smiled and stood from the bed. "Alright. I'll go with you."

"Yay!" She smiled at the child again. She left off her stockings and put her shoes on. She then took Rose's hand and she led them out to the garden. They climbed up the hill and Rose put down her blanket. She and Belle both sat on it and watched as the sun started to peak over the horizon. Rose leaned over to Belle's side and Belle put her arm around her. She noticed that Rose's normally straight hair was messy and slightly tangled.

"Rose, your hair is a mess. We'll need to brush it out." Rose went in her pocket and took out her silver comb and handed it to Belle.

"Here." Belle smirked as she took the comb. That must have been something else she did with Rumple. Watching the sunrise as he combed out her hair. She still couldn't believe that the Dark One could be such a dedicated and caring father. This was the same man that was a ruthless dealmaker. The same man that took her from her kingdom forever. The man was a complete mystery. Pushing those thoughts aside, Belle started to gently comb out the young girl's hair. It was long and silky and beautiful. Belle had only seen it straight down her back. Being raised by a single father, they probably never experimented with different styles. Belle remembered that her mother and maids would have her with a different hair style every few weeks. Belle preferred to keep it in her natural curls.

"Rose? Why don't we try something different with your hair? It's very long and we could do many things with it." Rose looked up at her.

"Like what?" Belle thought about it for a moment. Rose was a very active child. A lot of times when she ran around playing, her hair would get in her face and eyes.

"Why don't we try a braid?" Belle finished combing out her hair, then began to braid it down her back. It took a few minutes, but Belle completed the single long braid. She removed the hair tie from her hair and wrapped it around the end of the braid. She placed the braid over Rose's shoulder. "There. All done."

"Wow." Rose picked up her newly braided hair and saw how different it looked.

"Do you like it?"

"Yeah. It's pretty." Belle smiled.

"Good. I'm glad you do. We can always try something new with your hair every few weeks. Would you like that?" She looked up and smiled at her.

"Yes, Mama." Rose leaned into Belle's embrace and they both continued to watch the sunrise. After an hour, the sun was halfway in the sky. Belle brought Rose back inside to start on breakfast. She started a batter for muffins and sent Rose to the garden to pick blueberries. Belle sorted through the good and bad ones. There were rarely any bad ones. Rose had a keen eye for picking fruit. It was one of her favorite hobbies with her father. Once the muffins were in the oven, Rose helped Belle clean up the mess and wash the dishes. After they ate, Belle went on to her chores. Rose followed her and helped where she could. Without her dolls, she didn't have anything to keep her occupied while Belle cleaned. Her grandfather was still a doll, but knowing that he was a person, Rose didn't feel comfortable playing with him anymore. He was still on the floor in her papa's room and that's where he would stay. Once Belle was finished cleaning, she and Rose went up to her library. Rumple built it for her after the Robin Hood incident. It was full of books from top to bottom. More than she could ever read in a lifetime.

"Alright, Rose. Why don't you pick out a book for us to read?"

"Okay." Rose went over to one of the shelves and looked at each book. Some of the titles were in different languages that she couldn't read. She then came across a book that caught her attention. She pulled it out and looked at the cover. It had a picture of a mouse holding a needle with a red thread. She brought it over to Belle.

"This one. It has a mouse on it." Belle took the book and examined it.

"I know this book. 'The Tale of Despereaux.' This was my favorite story. I used to read this back home with my mother." Belle thought back to the days when she was a child. Her mother would read to her in their large library by the fireplace. They would read and read for hours. Belle would sometimes ask her mother to read the same book to her more than once. She missed her mother dearly.

"And you can read it to me." Belle smiled at the sweet child.

"Yes. And now I can read it to you." They went over to the couch. Belle laid down and Rose laid on her chest. Belle opened the book to the cover page. "'The Tale of Despereaux being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread. Chapter One, The Last One. This story begins within the walls of a castle, with the birth of a mouse.'"

They read for hours and hours. Belle stopped every few pages to answer the questions Rose had. She was very curious about the nature of the book and Belle could understand that. She questioned the book a lot when she was younger. The more questions she had, the more she loved the story. They ended up reading the entire book. They were so caught up in the story, they had missed lunch and it was nearing dinnertime. Rose then yawned and relaxed into Belle's chest. Belle knew she was about to fall asleep. She started to slowly get up, but Rose wrapped her arms around Belle's torso.

"No."

"Sweetheart, I need to start cooking." She buried her face in Belle's chest and held her tighter.

"No." Belle couldn't help but smile at the sleepy child. She did not want her to move. Belle honestly didn't feel like moving and was feeling a bit tired herself. She placed the book on the table beside her. She reached her Rose's blanket on the back of the sofa and draped it over them. Belle gently stroked Rose's hair until they both fell asleep.

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo