"So, how does it work?" asked Emma warily. Gold was wearing his enchanted shawl as a safety measure as they walked slowly towards the town line. Reaching inside his jacket, he withdrew a wand of crystal, handing it to Emma. He dug in his pocket again and pulled out a bottle filled with a gleaming red liquid.
"How do I use this?" she asked, nonplussed, looking at the wand, and he smiled.
"The wand focuses the magic you already possess," he explained. "We'll be able to do far more with them than we could alone. When I pour this potion on the line, the boundary will show up right around the town. We stand either side of it, and we perform the spell."
"But you're not telling me how," she complained. He rolled his eyes impatiently.
"You will it, of course," he said. "Let me lead, you can follow. You'll be able to feel what I do. Your task is to join in and hold the spell in place." He paused. "You'll want to turn off your phone; we can't have any disturbances once this starts."
Emma complied, and stepped to the other side of the town line. Gold poured the potion, and immediately a red glow seemed to infuse the line and spread outwards along it. He threw the bottle away and took a second wand from his inside pocket.
"Excellent," said Gold quietly. He held up the wand. "Now, dearie, watch and learn." He pointed the wand at the line, and Emma felt, rather than saw, a wall spring up, a wall made up of spells of invisibility, confusion and misdirection. She fought to keep her concentration; the spell was making her want to ignore the town, to walk the opposite way. She held up her own wand and allowed herself to feel what Gold was feeling. The magic flowed through her like fire, funnelling down through the wand. Emma took a deep breath. She had never experienced anything like this before; the power that she felt running through her was intoxicating. She felt her power meld with his, strengthening the spell, pushing it onwards.
"Good girl," his voice was soft. "Keep it up. Keep feeling it."
Slowly, they began to walk east, one either side of the line.
The day after their return from chasing the thief Robin Hood, Belle awoke early. She had slept well and taken a bath, luxuriating in the hot, perfumed water, and she kept herself busy cleaning the main rooms of the castle. As she explored each room and determined what needed to be done, she devised a schedule for herself for the various tasks she would need to perform to keep the castle clean and tidy. She had dressed simply in a long-sleeved gown of deep blue wool which was warm and comfortable, and the day passed quickly as she dusted and swept. She had seen Rumplestiltskin only twice, at breakfast and at lunch, following which he had retreated to his study, muttering about some work he needed to do.
"I thought you'd want to hear straight away." His voice made her jump and drop the vase she had been dusting. Instantly he was at her side, the vase in his hand.
"You really are determined to break all of my things, aren't you dearie?" His face was amused rather than cross and she laughed nervously.
"You startled me," she said by way of explanation. "What would I want to hear?"
He held out a slip of paper that looked as though it had come from a messenger dove, and she unfurled it eagerly. Ogres vanished. Town made safe. No more lives lost. War over. She looked up at him with a wide smile, her eyes shining.
"Thank you," she said sincerely, and his mouth twitched.
"I always honour my agreements," he said quietly, and moved away.
"If you can stop wars just like that," she said, tucking the piece of paper into her belt-pouch as he turned back to her. "Why don't you get rid of the ogres completely?"
His eyebrows shot up, a hand pressed to his heart in mock horror. "You would have me commit genocide? Oh my!"
"No, no," she said hastily. "I just meant – why not send them somewhere they can't hurt anyone, where they can't start wars and kill innocent people."
He sat down at the table, lounging in his chair, and regarded her over tented fingers. "Because there's no profit in peace."
"But you're profiting from human suffering!" she objected. "That makes you nothing but a – a mercenary furthering your own ends with the misery of others!"
He smiled. "Sticks and stones, dearie," he said pleasantly. "Someone always profits from human suffering. I'd rather it was me than anyone else."
Belle frowned. "But why do you need profit?" She turned in a circle, spreading her arms wide to indicate the opulence of the room. "You have everything you could ever want."
"How interesting. You've been here less than a week and you already know all my deepest desires." His eyebrows quirked with amusement and she blushed.
"Well, no, but –"
"So let me get this right," he interrupted, tapping his fingertips together. "You think it would be better for me not to make such deals with little towns like yours, presumably because you would then be back at home preparing to marry that long streak of nothing you call a fiancé."
"Sir Gaston is an honourable man," she said defensively.
"Whom you do not love."
"How did you – ?" She stopped what she had been going to say at his infuriating smile. "Marriages for the nobility aren't about love, they are about preserving the security and prosperity of the town." She spoke as if the phrase had been learnt by rote, and he sat forward, looking amused.
"You know, if I'd wanted a conversation with your father, I'd have made him the price for my assistance."
Belle blushed again.
"If I accept his argument, however," he continued, sitting back. "It seems to me that our alliance has been far more effective in achieving his desired objective than the one he intended."
Belle nodded slowly, remembering her father's words and fingering her belt pouch where the precious message lay. "Then it's been a good bargain," she said, with a trace of a smile.
After Gold and Emma had left, Belle showered, dressed and made her way into the town. She swung her arms happily as she walked, wondering if it was obvious to all she passed that she had spent the last four days in a haze of pleasure and abandon. She almost skipped as she crossed the street, pushing open the door to Granny's diner and greeting Ruby with a smile and a wave. She slid onto one of the stools at the bar and ordered an iced tea. Ruby finished serving coffee to a customer and hurried over, leaning on the bar opposite Belle with a grin.
"Haven't seen you for, let's see – four days!" said Ruby brightly. "Where have you been?"
"At home," said Belle coyly, selecting a straw to drink her tea. Ruby smirked.
"You're looking well on it, whatever it is," she remarked. "Come on, confess! The only sex I'm having at the moment is vicarious. What have you been up to?"
"Nothing that's fit for your poor, innocent ears," said Belle airily, then giggled, blushing, and Ruby snorted. Loudly.
"Fine, I'll get the details out of you tomorrow after a few drinks," she declared, then looked anxious. "You are coming, right? Girls' night isn't on hold just because your immortal lover is back on the scene?"
"Of course I'm coming!" protested Belle. "I'm looking forward to a night out." She grinned wickedly, sucking tea through her straw. "I could do with a rest."
"No doubt," muttered Ruby. "So, what are you up to today?"
Belle sighed, stirred her drink. "I have to go and see Father," she muttered.
"D'you think he'll have…" Ruby began, and it was Belle's turn to snort.
"Changed?" she scoffed. "No. I'm guessing he turned the air blue when he heard Rumple was back." She sighed again. "But I'd like to make things up with him, so I'll try."
Belle spent the rest of the morning at the library, sorting books, but as midday approached she steeled herself and left for the flower shop. She hesitated outside for a moment, then took a deep breath and entered, pushing aside hanging ferns and inhaling the clean scent of growing things. He was serving someone at the cash register, and his face lit up as he saw her. He hurriedly completed the transaction and Belle stepped forward as the customer left.
"Father," she said quietly, and he rushed at her, wrapping his arms around her.
"Oh Belle, I've missed you so much!" he said, his voice muffled by her hair. "I didn't think he'd let you come!"
She rolled her eyes with a rueful smile, hugging him, and he stepped back, taking her hands in his and looking her up and down.
"You look very well, I must say," he admitted. "Beautiful as ever."
"Thank you, Papa," she smiled, squeezing his hands. "I'm happy."
His face clouded over then, and she sighed inwardly, before his expression cleared.
"Lunch!" he announced. "Come on, Granny's – my treat!"
She enjoyed lunch; they kept the conversation light and he didn't refer to her relationship with Gold, so when they left and walked back to the shop she felt that they had turned a corner. Perhaps he would accept her choice after all.
"Belle," he said quietly as they entered the shop. "I'm trying to understand, I am. It's just – he's the Dark One."
"Yes," she said gently. "And he's Rumple. He's very good to me, Papa."
"Sometimes I wonder if he says things just to upset me," he said awkwardly, taking off his cap and running his hand over his head. He grimaced, looked at the floor, at anywhere but her. "Have you and he – ?" he asked nervously, and Belle threw up her hands, shaking her head.
"Oh, we are not having this conversation!" she said firmly, and he reached for her.
"Darling, I just…"
"Father, honestly! Why are you asking me this?"
"I just want to understand…"
"You want to know if we're sleeping together, is that it?" she snapped. "Yes! We're sleeping together. We have been since the curse broke. Happy?"
"No," he said sadly. "I can't bear to think of it."
"Then why ask?" she demanded, shaking off his hand. "I'm not a child, Father!"
"He didn't even have the decency to marry you," he muttered, and she planted fists on hips, glaring at him.
"So, a ring and a piece of paper, and you'd have given him your blessing?" she asked sardonically. "Don't be a hypocrite! And stop pretending this is the Enchanted Forest and you have to protect my honour. I'm not some blushing virgin! It's twenty-first century America and I do what I want with my own body, thank you very much!"
He recoiled as if she had slapped him, and looked so upset she threw her arms around him, hugging him tight.
"Oh Papa, I don't want to fight," she whispered, and he hugged her back, nodding agreement and mumbling an apology.
"When will I see you again?" he asked, as they drew apart, and she took his hand.
"Papa, I want us to be as close as we were back home," she said gently. "I know we've had our differences, but surely we can work on those?" Her eyes were pleading, and he nodded shortly.
"I'll do my best," he said stiffly. "I know you're a grown woman and I can't live your life or tell you what to do, but I wanted better for you, darling."
She frowned, exasperated. He'd wanted Gaston for her, of all people. "Is that doing your best? Why don't you come to dinner and get to know him?"
"Belle, I won't sit down at the dinner table with that man. He's a manipulative bastard that only profits from human suffering!"
"Father, please!" She was annoyed. "You don't even know him. He's a good man. He's changed so much. We love each other and we're meant to be together, I know it. I feel it."
"You have no experience of love!" he snapped. "How can you know what you want?"
Belle pulled away, folding her arms beneath her breasts angrily.
"Father, if we're going to have this same argument every time…"
He sighed and looked at the floor. "I'm sorry Belle," he said tiredly. "I don't want to fight either. I – acknowledge your choice. Just don't ask me to approve of it. No-one will ever make me believe that the Dark One is capable of love."
He was upset at the hurt expression on her face, and reached for her in vain as she stormed out, slamming the door.