Chapter 3 – Long Live The Queen
Belle sat on the window seat in the throne room with red eyes due to all the tears she had shed. The Knight's has searched the battle field but they hadn't been able to find King Rumple's body and what was worse…. Belle had always been able to tell when Rumple was safe or not but now…. She couldn't feel anything.
Belle held her husbands' ring in her hand as another tear fell down her cheek and she spoke to Madeline without looking over her shoulder,
"I don't know what to do….. I…. I feel so lost" she whispered sadly and Madeline stood and walked over to her and turned her around gently,
"Oh Belle sweetheart… don't worry everything is going to be fine" she whispered soothingly but the truth was Madeline was trying to be strong for her daughter in law, she and Malcolm missed their son more than anything.
The knights had sworn their allegiance to Belle after she took the full responsibilities of Queen. Her heart was broken, Rumple had given his word that he would return to her safe and sound but….. It had been several weeks since the battle and there was still no word from him. If he was truly safe then he would have sent her word and eventually come home to his family…. But…. He hadn't and with every passing day her heart broke more and more.
She was signing official documents when King Gaston burst into the room with a smirk and Belle stood abruptly and he bowed mockingly,
"Good evening your majesty…. The rumours of your beauty do not do you justice" he said charmingly and Belle glared angrily,
"How dare you?!... Get out of my kingdom this instant!" she shouted angrily,
"GUARDS!" she shouted and they came running into the room and drew their swords but Gaston simply smirked evilly,
"My dear Queen I must say…. You carry yourself as if you were a true Queen" he mocked and Belle glared and walked over to him and slapped him,
"I 'am' a true Queen" she said firmly,
"By my marriage to my husband King Rumple I am the true Queen of Misthaven. Guards restrain him" she ordered firmly and the obeyed but Gaston chuckled evilly,
"Your husband milady is dead. By my hand I am pleased to say. I am also pleased to say that within the next….. Let's say five minutes you're going to tell your guards to release me" he said cockily and Belle glared growing more and more angry when he spoke of Rumple,
"Oh really? And why on earth would I do that?" she said angrily and he chuckled,
"Would you look at that…. Not even one minute….. Guards!" he shouted and his men marched into the throne room as their king smirked as they escorted Malcolm and Madeline who held little Rose in her arms with a worried expression and Malcolm had a protective hand on little Bae's shoulder who held Sir Teddy in his tiny arms, looking scared with tears rolling down his cheeks,
"Mama!" he cried and Belle suddenly looked terrified,
"Don't worry Bae….. Everything's going to be ok" she reassured before looking at Madeline,
"Madeline, are you all ok?" she asked concerned and Madeline nodded as she held a sleeping Rose,
"Yes…. Yes were all safe" she reassured but Gaston chuckled,
"Yes they're say…. But only if you obey my demands your majesty" he said with a smirk and Belle looked at him before looking down sadly, feeling hopeless,
"…. Release him" she said sadly and the knight's obeyed, reluctantly letting him go and Gaston chuckled smiling brightly,
"Thank you your majesty…" he said mockingly with a bow,
"and now the real fun can begin" he said darkly before walking over to one of his servants who held a box and he opened it, and smiled brightly as he removed an object and turning back to Belle and her eyes widened in horror as she saw him holding her old lamp and he smirked,
"Don't look so horrified your majesty. I simply wish to relieve you of your duties as Queen and return you back to the position as the servant you truly are" he said in a mocking soft tone and Belle glared,
"Never…. You probably do not know this but the only way a genie can be granted magical abilities is if the person willingly gives up their freedom and offers their services to the lamp. After you invade my kingdom, take my husband from me and threaten my family. What on earth makes you think that I will ever agree to be your servant?!" she shouts firmly and Gaston smirks,
"You'll do it for the same reason you offered your services willingly to the lamp the first time…. To protect your family. Princess Belle Of Avonia" he said smartly and Belle's eyes widened. She had only told Rumple the truth of how she had become a servant of the lamp and he agreed to never speak of it again because he knew it was too painful for his wife to remember that she hadn't been able to protect her family.
The Ogre wars had been brutal and Belle sacrificed her freedom by becoming a servant of lamp so that she was able to place a magical barrier over Avonia and take away the ogre's abilities to hurt those who were innocent. But it hadn't been enough. Yes she had saved her kingdom but she had still lost her family.
Belle looked down sadly and after a moment she looked back at Gaston firmly,
"If I do this…. My family, my subjects, my knights….. They will all be safe. And you will rule Misthaven and treat its people in a way they truly deserve" she said firmly and Gaston nodded,
"It shall be done" he said simply and Madeline cried out,
"No Belle! Don't listen to him! Without you Misthaven will be lost" she shouted desperately and Malcolm continued after his wife,
"Please Belle there must be another way" he said firmly and she looked at them sadly before walking over to them and hugging them,
"I'm afraid there is not…. I may be Queen but my first duty is as a mother" she said firmly and although they were both reluctant, they nodded sadly.
Belle knelt down in front of a teary eyes Bae and He jumped at her and hugged her tightly and she hugged him back,
"Pwease mama…. Don't weave me. I don't wants you to go back insides that nasty lamp" he said in a sniffily voice as he buried his face in her shoulder and she kissed his head softly as a tear fell down her cheek and she whispered,
"Shhhhhhhhh it's going to be ok…. I need you to be brave for me and look after your sister. Promise me Bae…. You're my little brave knight….. And I am so proud of you" she whispered and kissed his head gently once more and Bae sniffled,
"I…. I pwomise mama"
Belle kissed Bae's forehead once more and hugged Malcolm and Madeline before kissing Rose's sleepy forehead and she looked at her mother and father in law and whispered,
"Take care of them for me" she said as a tear fell down her face and they nodded sadly as tears formed in their own eyes.
Belle turned to a smirking Gaston before stepping towards him and she glared at him as she placed her hand over the Lamp,
"You may think you have won Gaston but my husband will soon be back and he will take his kingdom back and will show you no mercy" she growled and he chuckled before smirking,
"I highly doubt that…. Now get on with it" he ordered firmly and Belle continued to glare at him and she never took her eyes off his,
"I Queen Belle Of Misthaven. Hereby offer my services of my own free will to the ancient lamp of Avonia. He who shall hold the lamp shall be my master and I there slave…. I hereby give up my freedom…. For all eternity" she said firmly and closed her eyes as she finished the words she had already spoken many years before.
Blue smoke erupted from the spout of the lamp and engulfed Belle before sucking her back into the lamp and Gaston erupted with laughter,
"Finally!... now I will be the most powerful king in all the realms and with the genie by my side, I will take over the kingdoms one at a time" he said proudly and took a seat on Rumple's throne and smiled, closing his eyes in satisfaction and Bae glares before running forward,
"That's my papa's chair you…. You….you big meany!" he shouted and Gaston burst out laughing,
"Well it appears the young false prince has a backbone" he mocked and Gaston's knights laughed and Gaston continued as he smirked at Bae,
"Don't you understand boy?... Your father is not a king anymore" he said firmly and Bae glared,
"That's not twue!... My papa is more of a king that you wills ever be!" he shouted and Gaston glared before standing,
"Oh is that so?!... Well then boy…" he said firmly before withdrawing a twisted dagger from the small scabbard on his belt,
"… Behold the 'true king'…." He growled angrily,
"Dark one I summon thee!" he shouted and in a puff of purple smoke appeared beside Gaston and once cleared it revealed a hooded figure with golden scaled hands and Gaston smirked,
"Please dark one lower your hood and introduce yourself to the boy" he said mockingly and the figure lowered his hood, revealing his face and Bae gasped scared as the golden scaled man glared down at him,
"My name is Rumplestiltskin….. And I am the dark one" he said with a growl.
Bae looked up at the face of his father and he held Sir Teddy in his arms tightly.
So, the origin of how Belle first became a genie has been revealed and Yes. Gaston did in fact stab Rumple with the dark one's dagger on the battlefield. Just to avoid any confusion, the dagger in this story is a little different. Basically it was Gaston's secret weapon to win the war. He had a dark witch forge it so that he may corrupt the King of Misthaven with Dark magic and now Rumple can't fully remember the good man he once was.
I Hope you all enjoyed chapter 3! In the next chapter, Malcolm and Bae are locked in the dungeon along with Rumple's knights; whereas Madeline has been locked in the royal nursery with Nanny robyn where they can tend to little Baby Rose.
Will they escape? or has Gaston truly won?
Please Review and let me know what you think. It will also help me post the next chapter faster.
Kind Regards,
TheAuthor1996