Chapter 5 – Family Reunion
For the next week, Gaston remained patient. He had not summoned Belle from her lamp since their last encounter, it pleased him in a small way; thinking of how worried she must feel for her family and at the same time mourning the 'tragic death' of her husband.
Rumple stood in the audience chamber, in which Gaston was having a meeting with his knights. Belle's lamp sat on a pedestal next to Gaston and Rumple kept a secret glance on it at all times. Gaston gestured to three different kingdoms on a map which was laid out on the table,
"I have decided that the three kingdoms that outline the border of Misthaven shall be the first to be seized…. With the genie by my side, they will not stand a chance" Gaston informed them and they made a firm nod. Gaston smirked and glanced at Rumple,
"…. And I will also have my little pet…." He stood and approached Rumple, whose expression had remained the same,
"Isn't that right…..? Dark One?" he mocked with a smirk and Rumple remained silent and Gaston glared,
"SPEAK!" he roared but Rumple did not flinch as he replied,
"Yes master" he replied firmly and Gaston smirked before turning and picking up the lamp and he raised it to Rumple's sight with a wicked glint in his eye,
"Have you ever seen this before dark one?" he asked in a sickening sweet tone and Rumple answered obediently,
"Yes master…. The lamp never leaves your side" he said with a firm tone and had a secret longing to punch Gaston in the face. Gaston smirked in response,
"Oh dear….. And in all the time you have been here, I have yet to introduce you to the Genie within?... My apologies for my lack of manners Dark one" he said in a mocking tone before taking the lamp in both hands and gently brushed his hand across the metal surface and blue sparkling smoke erupted from the spout, clearing to reveal Belle who was looking at the floor sadly before slowly looking up and her eyes widened at the sight of her husband standing behind Gaston,
"Rumple!" she shouted in astonishment and without thinking she began to run towards him but Gaston smirked and clenched the lamp in his hand, causing it to glow and an invisible force picked Belle up, sending her flying back and to the floor. It took everything inside Rumple not to react. It felt like a generation since he had last seen his wife and there was nothing he wanted more than to take her in his arms and hold her and never let her go again. Gaston smirked,
"Ah ah ah… not so fast. I believe introductions are in order…." He said in mocking tone and Belle looked at him confused before looking at her husband,
"R…. Rumple….?" She said in whispered tone and Gaston smiled brightly and said over his shoulder,
"Dark one…. Might I introduce Belle? I assume you've never met before… am I correct?" he asked as he smirked at Belle and Rumple's heart broke in that very moment as he falsely glared at his beloved wife,
"No master….. I have never seen this woman before in my life" he said firmly and Belle's eyes widened in shock, tears formed in her eyes as she looked down at the floor and allowed them to fall,
"How…. How could you?..." she whispered before looking at Gaston with a sad and weak expression,
"You took him from me once, only to give him back and take him away from me" she whispered sadly as tears fell down her cheeks and she stepped towards Rumple. This time Gaston allowed it and smirked as he watched. Belle looked up into the dark one's eyes,
"Rumple?... Please….. Please tell me you know who I am" she whispered desperately and Rumple glared down at her, his heart secretly breaking with each passing moment and he spoke firmly,
"No….. I have never seen you before in my life….. And my name is not Rumple. I am the Dark One" he said emotionlessly and Belle's heart broke and she shook her head quickly,
"No….. No Rumple you're not. You're Rumplestiltskin, King of Misthaven, Only son of King Malcolm and Queen Madeline, Father of Prince Bae and Princess Rose… You're…. You're my husband…. Please Rumple…. You have to remember….. I….. I love you" she said desperately as tears fell down her cheeks and Gaston chucked,
"Well Dark One?... What do you have to say to this?" he asked amused and Rumple's heart shattered completely in that moment, and let out a false high pitched giggle,
"Well I'm flattered dearie, I really am but…." He looked her up and down with a false smirk,
"I'm a monster….. I'm heartless and I don't love anything" he said firmly and Gaston and his knights burst out laughing and Gaston clapped,
"Very well said dark one….. I think she's heard enough" he said with a smirk as he watched Belle slowly shake her head and step away from the dark one and slowly fell to her knees, weak from a broken heart and Gaston smirked as he looked down at her,
"I am a merciful man lady Belle…. So I shall grant you permission to see your daughter for 10 minutes…." He said before rolling his eyes,
"The child won't stop crying so the only solution I can come up with is sending her mother to sooth her…. Am I not a merciful master Belle?" he asked with a smirk but she didn't look at him but nodded slowly before whispering,
"Yes…. Yes master" she said quietly as another tear fell down her cheek and he smirked before taking his seat at the table once more,
"The dark one will escort you" he said firmly and Rumple felt a ray of hope.
Belle nodded sadly before standing and she didn't look at Rumple, she couldn't bring herself too. Rumple kept a firm expression before bowing to Gaston and walked over to Belle,
"This way" he said firmly and walked out the room and Belle followed slowly.
Rumple walked beside Belle and managed to keep the firm expression on his face until they were out of sight and ear shot of Gaston's guards and he suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her into a guest room,
"Ahhhhhh! Hey get off me!" Belle cried out shocked and looked at the dark one with a scared expression as she saw him lock the door behind them before turning and looking at her with a glare and she looked at him nervously,
"Please…. I…. I don't know what Gaston's ordered you to do…. But please…. If you're going to kill me…. Let me see my son and daughter one last time" she begged and the whole time she had been speaking, the dark one walked towards her causing her to step backwards until her back came into contact with the wall and she closed her eyes tightly with fear.
Belle hated the fact that she was fearing Rumple because of the dark creature that had taken over her body but she wasn't about to give him or Gaston the satisfaction of the fact that the dark creature was to kill whilst possessing her husband's body,
"You kept your promise" a soft voice spoke and Belle's eyes shot open to look at the dark one smiling at her and she looked confused for a moment,
"Wh… what?" she whispered and Rumple smiled brightly, lifting his hand to brush against her cheek softly, and leant forward to whisper in her ear,
"You managed not to marry sir teddy whilst I was away" he whispered in a teasing tone and Belle pulled back slowly to look into his eyes,
"… R….. Rumple?" she whispered and Rumple smiled softly cupping her cheek and she lifted her hand slowly and brushed hair out of his eyes gently and hesitantly,
"Am…. Am I dreaming?... you….. you're really here?" she asked softly and Rumple smiled and without a word he leant in, cupping both her cheeks and kissed her passionately and Belle easily returned it, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Rumple eventually pulled away for breath and rested his forehead against Belle's,
"Oh Belle….. My love, my angel… I have missed you so" he whispered and kissed her passionately once more, Belle smiled against her husband's lips and kissed him back just as passionately,
"Rumple….. My Rumple…." She whispered and buried her face in the crook of his neck,
"I never gave up hope….. I knew….. Deep inside my heart I knew you were still alive" she whispered and then he kissed her again passionately, never wanting to let her go,
"Oh my love…. I am so sorry…. I broke my promise. I told you I would return and I failed you" he whispered sadly as he rested his forehead against hers and Belle smiled softly as happy tears fell down her cheeks,
"No….. Rumple you kept your promise…. You came back to me" she whispered happily and pressed a kiss to his forehead,
"But I don't understand….. What's going on?" she asked confused and her husband sighed, lifting her hand and pressed a kiss upon its surface gently,
"It's a very long story my love….. But I will tell you everything" he said gently and Belle nodded.
YAY! PRAISE THE LORD! I will be honest I haven't enjoyed capturing all the yucky Gaston chapters but I wanted the start of the story to show that Happily Ever After is just the beginning and even after you're lucky enough to find it, it must still be fought for :)
But don't worry there is going to be much happier chapters now :) and lots of sweet secret moments between Belle and Rumple :D
Please review! let me know what you think :D
Kind Regards,
TheAuthor1996