Of Curses and Dust

By: RosexKnight

Belle gets used to life with The Dark One, which she discovers is not always as easy as it could be. While Rumpelstiltskin startles her, she and Baelfire bond, and it seems that nothing having to do with her master is as easy as it could be.

Chapter Two

The first week was hard. Although Belle had found she almost preferred the house to a castle, cleaning was not something she was accustomed to. Neither was cooking, for that matter. But she'd quickly grown used to both. As promised, after a few days her master provided her with a new dress. A much more practical blue gown with golden thread. It was simple yet elegant, and suited Belle much more than the fancy yellow one she'd come in with. By the end of the week Belle had the house spotless, and her body had become adjusted to waking early to serve breakfast and start on the laundry. He'd taken to startling her every so often, appearing behind her, making something disappear and re-appear. It brought him great amusement, though it didn't have the same effect on her. She was sure she'd get used to it. She was too stubborn for anything else.

It was...odd being under the same roof as The Dark One. He was intimidating, and she got the feeling that he wanted her to fear him. That he liked being feared. But his son usually kept him in line, at least around the house, and Belle grew used to his petty threats of turning her into something to be squashed. Not that fear didn't prickle under her skin every time. Baelfire was a good kid. He sometimes helped her in the kitchen or got food from the market, which was fine as far as Belle was concerned, because she hated the looks she got from others in the village. Ones of such pity and fear that it made her resent them greatly. She could sense something going on between Rumpelstiltskin and his son, though. Although she had no idea how a father and son were to act around each other, she'd sometimes come in to find them talking, usually arguing about something in whispers, and Baelfire would give her a look she'd learned meant "Make yourself scarce." She always did.

"Don't let Papa scare you." Baelfire said one day while he was showing her how to make bread with the sweet berries picked from the forest that he liked. "He didn't used to be this way."

"He doesn't scare me." Belle said easily, putting the bread into the oven. It wasn't a total lie. "He saved my villiage when he didn't have to. And I haven't been turned into a frog yet. So there must be some good in him."

Baelfire looked surprised at her. Extremely. But he gave a small nod.

"I've got it from here." She said, beginning to clear away the mess on the counter. "Why don't you go on and play? I'll call you in for supper."

The boy hesitated, almost as if he didn't want to go out, but he eventually did, leaving Belle alone in the house to her cleaning. She'd became acutely aware of how often The Dark One was gone, presumably making deals and the like. Hadn't he said a castle was in the works? Though she supposed he was watching over his house somehow. A crystal ball or something. Wizards did that right? It must have been protected somehow. No one dared even look at the house wrong, so of course no one was going to enter it.

She'd just finished the bread and moved out to take in the dry laundry while it cooled when her master appeared behind her.

"You missed a spot, dearie."

Belle gave a squeak and whirled around, dropping the white shirt in the process.

"See? Dirt. Still all over that one." He said with a giggle.

Belle gave him a glare as she picked up the shirt. It was indeed now dirty again. She sighed and tossed it into the basket with other dirty clothing.

"Where's Bae? I have a present for him." Rumpelstiltskin asked, sounding pleased with himself.

"We were baking all morning, so I sent him out to play for a while." Belle said, moving to the clothes line to fold another shirt.

"You...He went out to play?"

"Is that wrong? He is still a child. I only thought-"

"No no, it's fine. My present can wait. Here." He tossed her a gauntlet. One wore by knights charging into battle. She could sense it wasn't just an ordinary gauntlet though. It was heavier, and almost tingled under her touch. "Wash this for me."

"What is it?"

"Just a little trinket I picked up from Camelot. Wash it and put it someplace pretty."

"Camelot?!" Her eyes were bright and excited suddenly, and it made The Dark One flinch back in surprise. Belle blinked. "Sorry, I only...You never talk about these." Belle muttered as she ran her hands over the gauntlet. "I'm sure Bae would love to hear stories."

Rumpelstiltskin gave her a look that indicated she'd crossed a line, and her body went cold.

"Sorry." She said quickly. "I'll...I'll just go wash it and find a place for it.

"See that you do."

She scurried inside, leaving him alone with his thoughts. Bae was playing outside. Properly. Without any coaxing from him.

Perhaps this maid would not be so bad after all. As long as she remembered her place.

Belle was finding a spot for the now shiny gauntlet, running her hands over the other magical items in the house. It hadn't been too hard cleaning it, but finding a spot was the tricky part. The cottage was not small, but Rumpelstiltskin had collected so much that every shelve and flat surface was cluttered.

She had just put the gauntlet away when Bae rushed in, fumbling clumsily at the shelf of different herbs and medicines in a rush.

"Baelfire?"

"Shh!" The boy hushed, bringing out a gel she knew would heal cuts.

Belle watched as the boy sat down, moving to help him tend to what looked like a simple scraped knee.

"Fall while playing?" Belle asked, taking a cloth to dab the gel over it.

"Well, sort of. But don't-"

"Bae?"

The boy turned stiff. He and Belle looked to the doorway to see Rumpelstiltskin had returned again. He stepped forward, looking over his son with confusion and almost...anger.

"What happened?" He asked.

"I fell." Baelfire said, his voice more at-ease than his eyes. "We were running in the woods and I tripped over a root."

"Really? Here." His hand began glowing in a purple hue, and Belle felt the air shift. Baelfire, however, flinched away. "Bae?"

"It's just a scrape, Papa." He said, and his father seemed to accept it, though a little disappointed.

There was a pause, and Belle cleared her throat. "Well it's a good thing you're home. Supper will be done soon." She stood, handing the cloth with gel to her master. "Shall I set the table for two, sir?"

"Three." He said. "I won't leave again for a few days."

"Yes sir."

She disappeared into the kitchen, hearing the beginnings of an argument of whispers once again. No, she had no idea how fathers and sons were to interact, but she had a feeling when your father was The Dark One it was nothing but easy.

It was night when she heard the movement. Her body went stiff in her bed, until she realized where she was and relaxed. There was a pause, then a rustle and a creek. Belle sat up, lighting a candle before moving to the main room.

She'd expected to see her master at his wheel spinning straw into gold. He spun at any hour. It was a sight to behold. But her master wasn't spinning instead the movement was that of Baelfire, who was rustling around and stuffing supplies into a satchel hurriedly.

"Baelfire?"

The boy started at the squeak of Belle's voice, but only looked at her for a moment before returning to his packing.

She tried again, firmer. "Baelfire what's going on?"

A pause. A hesitation. "Papa's gone."

"Oh." She glanced back to the room that would have belonged to Rumpelstiltskin. "He said he wouldn't leave again for a few days."

"He didn't leave to make a deal. He left to kill a trader."

"Why?"

"Because of my knee!" The boy was yelling now, and even in the dim candlelight Belle could see his eyes were wet. "Because a trader knocked me down with his cart and I hurt my knee and Papa's going to kill him!"

A silence stretched between them. Because Belle wasn't sure what to say to that. At all.

"So you're running away?" She guessed, stepping closer to inspect the supplies the boy had gathered and straighten what he'd put out of place.

Another pause. "He's not like he used to be."

"He still loves you. When I told him you were out playing today-"

"I shouldn't have gone out."

"Bae..." She took the satchel away, setting it to the side before crouching down to be at his level. "It's not your fault. And running isn't the answer."

"I know..."

"Do something heroic, and heroics will follow. That's what my mother always said."

"Heroic?" The boy lifted an eyebrow at her, and she smiled.

"Have courage. Talk to him. He's your father and he loves you. I've seen it in his eyes. Okay?"

Baelfire considered her words and nodded, and suddenly he was hugging her. Belle smiled, embracing the shaking boy for a moment before patting his head.

"I'll put everything back in its place. Get back to bed."

"What if he finds something out of place?"

"I can handle your father." Belle promised. It wasn't a total lie. "Go on."

Baelfire obeyed, but hesitated at his door. "Belle...do you think there's a way to turn my father back into a man?"

"I don't know much of magic." Belle told him, already emptying the satchel. "But I do believe in goodness in everyone. I think your father is still a man. Perhaps he's just forgotten that."

The boy considered her words, mulling them over in his head, and then nodded. "Thank you, Belle. Good night."

"Goodnight Baelfire."

Without another word the boy returned to his room, leaving Belle alone in the candlelight, extremely grateful for the fact she'd paid close attention to where the house was. Being the maid certainly had its advantages.