Chapter 16: - The Preparation Of The New King
Belle kept a gentle, comforting hand upon Arthur's shoulder as Uther was finally laid to rest within the valley of the fallen kings. The next few nights would be filled with troubled sleep for the young prince.
Rumple sat at the desk with his Belle's guest chambers when she finally returned after making sure the children were sleeping calmly and he smiled at her softly,
"I've began to make arrangements for our trip back to Misthaven. I see that it is best to move an extra bed into Bae's bed chamber our son and Arthur have formed a brotherly bond" he said gently but Belle's sad expression didn't change.
Within her hands she held an envelope of yellowed parchment, upon which the red wax seal had been broken. She looked at her husband sadly,
"Sir Balanor….. Uther's right hand knight entrusted me with this" she informed quietly as she looked at the envelope with sadness,
"It…. It contains Uther's final will and testament. It was changed only a month ago… He added one new benefactor" she whispered quietly and Rumple looked puzzled as he stood and walked towards his wife with a look of concern upon his face,
"Who?" he asked quietly and Belle looked at him after a moment with tears in her eyes and her lip began to tremble,
"Me….. He….. Uther knew that his end was near and he knew Arthur is still not ready so… due to the circumstances that Camelot is without a ruler… Uther has named me his successor until Arthur is ready to take his rightful place on the throne" she whispered as a tear fell down her face and she nearly collapsed from the shock but Rumple caught her just in time and knelt down with his wife on the floor and held her in his arms as he allowed her to cry. He was stunned himself but he had to be strong for her,
"How….. How long…?" he couldn't bring himself to finish his question but Belle knew her husband enough to know what his heart was yearning not to learn,
"Arthur turns 14 within two weeks' time. I have four years until he reaches the appropriate age to claim his throne… Uther has also requested that Arthur stay within the kingdom of his birth… and….. and I must stay too" she said with a sob, allowing the envelope to fall from her hand as she placed her face in both of them and Rumple wrapped his arms around her and held her close.
It seemed Belle would also be haunted by troubled sleep just as much as Arthur. Camelot was to become more of a cage than a kingdom to the both of them.
Rumple had held Belle in his arms until she cried herself to sleep and he eventually carried her to bed and tucked her in. He sat by her side all night without sleep just so he could be aware that his wife did not suffer from haunted dreams.
Although he did not agree with Uther's final wishes, he still respected them. Rumple was very much aware of how proud Uther was of his family history and therefore could understand his wanting for Arthur to remain in Camelot. He had sat next to his sleeping wife and read the envelope containing the king's will and saw that Uther had also arranged an alliance between Misthaven and Camelot as soon as Arthur was crowned. Uther truly was a man of his word.
It broke Rumple's heart to think of being without Belle for Four whole years but he knew no matter how much it equally broke his wife's heart he knew that she would never abandon young Arthur in his time of need and it wasn't long before Rumple's mind was illuminated with an idea.
When Belle woke the next morning she found that Rumple had arranged for his cases to be prepared and she looked at her husband who was talking with a servant sadly and she stood slowly,
"Rumple…. What's going on?" she asked confused when the servant left and he instantly went over to her in two quick strides and hugged her tightly,
"My darling Belle… Uther has chosen his successor well and I know you shall do both him and me proud but….. Just as Camelot needs a leader so does Misthaven… I have no choice but to return" he whispered in her ear and she closed her eyes slowly as she hugged him back and a tear fell down her cheek,
"It only seems yesterday that we were reunited after the curse was broken and now I feel like I'm losing you all over again" she whispered sadly but Rumple kept his arms wrapped around her and pressed a kiss to her head,
"Oh no…. No my love. Shhhhhhh. Don't think like that. Don't ever think like that. One think that our love for each other has taught me is that no power upon this earth can keep us apart. My love for you Belle is eternal and the bond between us is strong" he whispered and Belle simply buried her face into the crook of his neck,
"I love you Rumple" she whispered and pulled back after a moment she pulled back to look him in the eyes which were willed with both love and devotion for him but also fear of being parted from him,
"I'm scared Rumple… Four years is….." she began but Rumple placed both his hands on her shoulders and leaned in and kissed her passionately before pulling away,
"Is nothing compared to the hell I lived before we first met" he whispered against her lips and Belle rested her forehead against his,
"I will write to you every day" she whispered as she closed her eyes softly and Rumple also closed his,
"As will I my love… My only wish is that Bae remains here with you" he told her and Belle opened her eyes and looked at him stunned but he continued before she could speak,
"Bae can learn his lessons of what it means to be king from you just as Arthur is going too." He assured her in a gentle tone,
"Those boys are like brothers not just because of their shared imagination for adventure and also their friendship….. They are like brothers because they have both found a mother inside you" he whispered and a tear fell down Belle's cheek which Rumple softly brushed away with his thumb,
"I will make arrangements for my parents and I to bring Rose as many times as we can. You must be strong Belle for you know that I shall not be able to leave Misthaven for most of these visits but if I have faith in anyone then it is you. You have already done so much for Camelot Belle….. You taught Uther to trust once more, You taught the same to Arthur… but most of all the greatest lesson you have taught was to me…. You taught me that is possible to love." He whispered and she smiled softly with tears in her eyes and she leaned up and kissed him softly which he happily returned,
"I shall also make arrangements for Bae to come and visit you. I will not let this break our family apart" she vowed firmly and Rumple smiled proudly and cupped her cheek,
"That's my girl" he said and she couldn't help but blush and smiled brightly and they hugged each other tightly once more.
Neither of the couple noticed that outside the door, Merlin had been listening to their heart-warming conversation. Merlin too was troubled by Uther's request of Queen Belle. He knew that his king had been so long without his beloved wife Igrain that he had not thought about the feelings of King Rumple and Queen Belle when he had changed his will.
Merlin remembered the day when he had met Queen Belle for the first time and of how she had assisted him without a second thought by retrieving his staff and assisting him with mission of walking down the stairs due to his ancient bones. Merlin realised within that moment that he was still in Queen Belle's dept.
Belle and Rumple found it very hard to say goodbye to each other that afternoon. They hugged each other tightly,
"Don't worry Belle. I will see again soon" he promised as he whispered in her ear as his wife became teary eyed once more. Merlin walked slowly to stand by Belle's side and looked at Rumple,
"Fear not King of Misthaven. I shall keep my promise. As Camelot's current leader by order of Uther that makes me your wife's adviser so fear not. I shall make sure she is comfortable here during her stay." He promised and Rumple smiled at the old man and nodded, holding out his hand which Merlin took and shook politely.
Belle simply snuggled her head into her husband's shoulder. She couldn't actually recall when Merlin had made such a promise to Rumple but right now she didn't care. Her heart was breaking from the thought of being separated from Rumple for four whole years.
Rumple hugged Bae tightly as the maids passed little Rose to Belle so that she could kiss her baby goodbye which she did so very reluctantly and she hugged the sleeping baby gently and placed a gentle kiss to her forehead.
Rumple brushed Bae's hair soothingly,
"You take care of your mama for me. I know you'll make me proud Bae and I promise you'll see me soon" he told his son and Bae nodded understanding as he hugged his papa,
"I love you Papa" he whispered and Rumple placed a kiss to the crown of his head,
"I love you too Bae" he replied before pulling away and turned to see Belle handing Rose reluctantly back to the maid who went to place her in the waiting carriage in her secured moses basket.
Rumple held his wife and kissed her passionately,
"I will see you again soon. I promise" he vowed in a whisper against her lips and Belle nodded with tears in her eyes as Rumple continued,
"Stay strong my love" he whispered and she kissed him once more,
"I'll miss you every moment, every minute, every hour and every second that we are apart and I promise I will write to you every day… I….. I can't say goodbye to you Rumple" she said with a small sob,
"Shhhhhhh….. Then don't say goodbye my love….. Just show me that smile that I adore" he told her and she looked at him sadly,
"I… I can't Rumple" she said hopelessly and Rumple smiled gently and brushed his thumb against her cheek softly,
"Do you remember the first time I danced with you?" he asked gently and slowly a gentle smile graced her lips despite the tears flowing down her cheeks as she remembered that magical moment between them and Rumple smiled brightly,
"That's more like it" he said softly and placed a gentle kiss upon her lips before lifting her hand and brushing another upon its surface.
They hugged each other once more before both reluctantly pulling away and Rumple took one more look at his wife and son before climbing into the carriage and started what seemed like the longest journey of his life back to Misthaven.
I hope you all enjoyed Chapter 16. I'm so sorry for the delay as I have been quite busy this week but I'm off for a few days so i'll try to update as much as i can but you know how to unlock the updates :D REVIEWS haha :D please review and let me know what you think and just as a little nudge to encourage you all... There's a really big twist in the next chapter ;) another little nudge... It involves Rumple and Belle ;) hehe oooooooo i'm mean haha :D.
I'm not sure if you all saw my review I posted on this story yesterday. This was due to me wanting to respond to a very kind reviewer under the name:- Ariel (Guest)
and I just wanted to let you all know that I am indeed working on a new RumBelle fanfic and I promise to post the first chapter soon.
Kind Regards,
TheAuthor1996