It was only by accident that Belle discovered her new heaven. Apparently, there were several rooms that she had not yet found. Instead of making a left turn after leaving the main room, curiosity took over her and she settled for turning right. That part of the castle was obviously much older than the rest, cracked an torn faded wallpaper covering the walls, and Belle wondered if something had happened that they had to restore the other half of the castle. Maybe a fire? There weren't any signs of a fire, destroying everything in its way.

Her footsteps echoed, telling everything and everyone that there was someone coming. The candle lit just enough for her to see where she was going, a golden light coming from the candle so she could see her feet in the blue flats she wore every single day. She was quite sure that there was no one else but her and Rumpelstiltskin in the castle, apart from all his treasures, right now, she was alone.

He had left this early morning, but she didn't know where he was going. Whether he was returning or not. It had been days since she last spoke to him and he seemed to be more distant every single day and not even courageous Belle had had the nerve to strike up a conversation. It didn't exactly work with her own mood, feeling worse every single day without uttering a word. So, walking into a library by accident, was exactly what she needed.

Even the thick layers of dust, indicating that it hadn't been entered for a long, long time couldn't keep the smile off her face. Books. Exactly what she needed. It had surprised her, to see ornaments and paintings from different countries all around the castle, but there had never been any books. Books for her to forget her daily life, books to lose herself in the beautifully written words, to become someone else for just a few hours until the story was over and she was thrown back into reality. It didn't mean that she did not like her new life, she just yearned for human contact and since the only other person in the castle was obviously avoiding her, her mood had been rather down lately.

She settled on the floor after spending minutes trying to pick out a few books, not caring about the dust on her blue dress. The excitement coursing through her body was enough to make her fingers tremble slightly as she opened the first book. All of the books were old, some even seemed ancient. Staring at the very first page, a yellowish coloured page, giving away the book's age, Belle took a deep breath. There was something special about opening book's for the first time, as if she was opening the wardrobe to Narnia, getting her first present on her birthday, her first kiss..

Belle lost herself in the books for a couple of hours, moved by the beautiful words inside them and for a while, she couldn't feel anything but pure glee. Her cheeks were flushed, a smile seemed plastered permanently on her full lips. This was her new favourite spot of the castle, she knew that for sure. Did he even know how valuable all of these books were? The knowledge inside of them, the fictional stories breaking and mending her heart over and over again.

The next day, it seemed like Belle had never been anything but perfectly content with her life. The smile hadn't faded overnight and she was slightly surprised to see Rumple already sitting at the table as she walked in with her own breakfast. The scent of freshly baked croissants and orange juice lingered in her nose, her hunger growing with each passing second. Setting the tray softly, afraid to bother him, Belle sat down on one of the chairs. He looked up. He actually looked up and acknowledged her existence!

She was not being ignored. Not anymore.

''Hello,'' she offered shyly, unsure of his intentions.

He smiled. He did. After days without uttering a single word, a simple smile was enough for Belle to make her happy for days. With a smile she tore a piece of croissant off and took a quick bite, chewing quickly so she could try and speak to him.

''Where did you go?'' Belle asked, unable to hide her curiosity.

His eyes seemed to twinkle, very amused with her curiosity. It hadn't taken him long to figure out she was one of the curious ones, never satisfied with the amount of information and details he would give. Not that he ever gave a lot of details. Or information, for that matter.

''I had some errands to run. Places to go, kingdoms to save. Children to skin.'' he said, a quick smile offered once again before crossing his arms and resting his muddy boots on the table. The table she had just cleaned before going to bed the day before, but Belle was too glad he was back that she didn't bother commenting on it.

He wasn't going to fool her with that again. The last time he had said it, she had accidentally dropped a cup, spilling tea all over the expensive looking rug. Now, instead of being scared, she couldn't help the smile appearing on her lips once again. Belle could tell she was growing on him, the first couple days he could barely stand her breathing in the same room, now he was joking around with her. Apparently she was not going to be that lonely after all.