Warning: Will eventually contain mature material. Language. Lemons. Some spicy limes. Maybe full-blown things. ~_^

A Salvation Called Love

-Chapter 6-

It didn't take me too long to take Annabelle's father home after we'd made the deal. I'd gotten back around midnight and knowing that I couldn't just leave her down in my dungeon permanently I busied myself in preparing a suitable room for her. I also transported all of her belongings that she had packed in her Jeep to her room magically. I'd even acquired her fish tank from her house after her father told me she would be lonely without it. I didn't necessarily want to be nice to Annabelle, she wasn't my Belle after all, but I wasn't going to be unnecessarily cruel either. She wasn't the one who'd wronged me, it was her father, and now she was willing to pay his debt. That there reminded me of what Belle had done for her own family, for her kingdom. And then her father had turned his back on her after all she'd sacrificed. I hated the direction my thoughts were flowing right now. I made sure everything was in place in the room before I made my way out into the hall. I was going to leave her in her cell for the night but come morning she'd be up here working and I'd show her where her room is. I was unbelievably tired so I decided to head up to my room. I took a quick shower and then made my way over to the bed where I curled up and waited for sleep to come. The last thoughts I had before sleep claimed me as that Annabelle's actions had reflected what Belle had done herself back when she was alive. A small smile formed as I snuggled further into my feather mattress. That's when the dream started.

"Why did you want me here, Rumplestiltskin?"

I gave a small shrug and watched as Belle scooted up onto the table. "The place was filthy."

Belle gave a small chuckle and shook her head, her beautiful auburn curls bouncing with the movement. "I think you were lonely." I just looked at her. She continued on with a smile. "I mean, any man would be lonely in such a massive place."

I sighed and took a sip of the lovely tea Belle had made me a short while ago. "I'm not a man."

Belle shook her head again. "You were a man once. That much I believe."

It had been true, but not anymore. "You're probably the only one to believe that."

"Won't you let me get to know you, Rumplestiltskin? Surely you hate being lonely, right?"

"Loneliness is a comfort to me. It doesn't burden me with troubles and it doesn't make demands of me. I'm a happy man that way. The only other happiness I have is when I'm making deals or spinning at the wheel." It was the truth, or partly the truth. For the most part I liked my loneliness because it helped me not remember the time that I was a man, the time I had a wife and a son. Now I just had myself… and it seems I had Belle as well.

"If I'm never going to know another person in my whole life, can't I at least know you?"

I stood up and turned to look down at the beauty that was sitting before me. I gave a small shrug. "Perhaps… perhaps you just want to learn the monster's weaknesses."

She narrowed her eyes playfully at me. "You're not a monster."

"I am." I moved towards my chair and slowly lowered myself into it, sitting the chipped tea cup down on the table in front of me. "You had a life before you came here, Belle. Why give it up? Why come here with me?"

She shrugged and wiggled her way along the table until she was sitting directly in front of me. She gently moved the tea cup to the side to make room for her. She smiled down at me. "Heroism. Sacrifice. There aren't very many opportunities for women in this land to show what they can do. To see the world, to be heroes. Soo…" She leaned forward, kicking her feet gently back and forth until they touched the bottom edge of my chair. "When you arrived that was my chance. I always wanted to be brave. I figured, 'do the brave thing and bravery would follow.'"

I stared up at her and felt my heart flutter as she watched me. "And is it everything you hoped?"

She giggled and shook her head. I couldn't stop watching as her curls bounced. My fingers itched to touch them and feel their silky texture. I swallowed and gripped the arms of my chair. "I didn't get the chance to see the world, but… I did save my village."

"Aye, you did. And it was a brave thing."

Her smile was almost blinding as she scooted forward, the edge of her dress brushing against my leather pants. "Are you happy that I'm here?"

I nodded before leaning forward and reaching around Belle to pick up my cup of tea. I could feel her knees brushing against my chest and I fought not to touch her any more than that. "I'm not unhappy." I sat back in my chair and the both of us stared at each other for a long period of time. Her stare was piercing and direct. I'd never met a woman such as her and it killed me to admit this, but I couldn't keep such a pure-hearted young woman. "I'll tell you what. I'll make you a deal." I stood and moved away from the table, offering Belle my hand to help her down. "Go to town and fetch me some straw. And when you return I'll share my tale."

I walked with her to the door as she stared at me slightly confused. "Town?" She turned to face me completely and cocked her head to the side while I reached over to the chair holding her cape and picked it up. "You'd trust me to come back?"

I gently draped her cape around her shoulders and fastened the tie that held it in place. I reached around her, my face so close to hers, and pulled the hood up to settle on her beautiful hair. I allowed myself to trail a hand across her cheek. She leaned into it as she stared at me. "Oh no, I expect I'll never see you again."

[Morning]

Jerking awake, I nearly tumbled out of bed. I hated that I was plagued by these ghostly memories every time I closed my eyes. I turned my head and looked at the bedside clock. It read 5:30 in the morning. I groaned and was glad that I didn't have to go into work today. It was Sunday. Slowly slipping out from beneath the cover I set my feet on the cool floor and stood, stretching. My bones popped and it felt good as I walked over to the chair where my robe was and grabbed it. I grabbed my cane as I left my room and made my way downstairs, bypassing the kitchen for something to eat and stopping in front of the door that held Annabelle behind it. I unlocked it and quietly made my way downstairs, flicking a switch near the bottom to stop the lights from coming on. I made my way over to the girl in her cell and stared down at her sleeping form. I flicked my hand and the cell door opened quietly, I stepped in and stopped beside the bed. She was shivering. I flicked my hand again and a blanket formed in it, I laid it gently over her. I expected she would sleep for a little while longer until I came and got her again. Staring down at her I could see she'd let her hair down after I'd left. It was now curled over the edge of the bed, peeking out from beneath the blanket. I leaned down and gently picked up one of the soft curls. It was as soft as silk as I gently rolled it beneath my thumb.

The movement must have woke the girl up because she jerked awake and turned, throwing herself at me. We both tumbled backwards with her riding me down. The landing was rough and I couldn't breathe for a few moments as she posed above me with a fist raised, waiting to strike. But she didn't. She stopped as she stared down at me, sleep leaving her eyes. "Mr. Gold?"

I stared up at Annabelle as she straddled my waist and even in the darkness of the room she was beautiful. For a moment I forgot that this wasn't my Belle. Her hair was longer and darker, the curls gently pooling against my now-bare chest. This tussle having undone the simple knot tying my robe closed. "Belle." I whispered the name and slowly raised my right hand, attempting to cup her cheek.

Annabelle grabbed my wrist and pressed it back against the cool ground. Her face was inches away from me and as she peered down at me in confusion. She used her free hand to gently tap the side of my face to catch my attention. "Mr. Gold, I'm not this Belle you keep calling me."

I frowned and pulled my wrist away from her. My thoughts were coming back to me and sure enough this wasn't my Belle. I growled and sat up quickly, Annabelle still straddling me but scooted down to my legs. I frowned at her as my pulsed jumped in my throat at the feel of her body still pressed against me. "Why are you straddling me, Dearie? You're very capable of getting up anytime." Then I thought of something that would embarrass her. I cracked a small, mischievous grin and arched one of my brows. "Unless you wanted a quick romp before work?"

We were almost face to face now, with me sitting up and I watched the blush spread like fire across her cheeks. "NO!" She hid her face behind her hair and quickly scooted off my lap, kneeling down beside me. "Sorry… I… didn't mean to spazz out like that."

I slowly stood up and dusted off my pajama bottoms before reaching down and picking up my cane. I turned to stare down at her. "Do you always react that way when someone is trying to put a blanket on you?" A small lie to cover up for the fact that I'd touched her hair while she was sleeping.

She gently tucked her hair back behind her ears and looked up at me. "Not normally. I guess I did because I was locked up all night." She moved to slowly stand and brushed her pants off as well. Standing she came up to my chin which made her have to tip her head back to look me in the eyes. She motioned towards my robe that was still open. "Do you normally check up on girls in your robe and pajamas?"

I grinned as she blushed again. I grabbed the edges of my robe and held it out, giving her a better view of my body. I couldn't help but give a small, deep chuckle. "Like what you see?" I gave a small twirl and stepped closer to her as she shook her head rapidly, hiding her eyes again. "No." I bent downwards until I could peer through her hair at her. "No, I don't normally come down here in my pajamas. But I was up early and thought I'd see if you were still alive."

She frowned and moved to shove me back. "Of course I would be still alive. It's not that cold down here."

I shrugged, quickly tying my robe closed again and started walking out of the cell. "Good. Since you're very much alive you can start getting ready for work." I looked back at her to see if she was following. She was just standing there. "Well?"

She quickly moved up behind me and followed me as I made my way up the stairs. "Why did you want me here, Mr. Gold?"

I froze on the second to last step from the top. I gripped the handle of my cane as I remembered dreaming about that exact question. I refused to look at her as I softly spoke, hoping she would hear me. "Don't ask such stupid questions. You're here to work, not to talk." I heard her mumble something but I ignored her and opened the door. I took the same path I had a little while ago and made my way upstairs. I'd given her a room on the second floor in the west wing of the manor. Stopping in front of her door I pulled a small gold key out of thin air, ensuring she didn't see my play of magic, and opened it for her. "Your room for the rest of your stay."

She stopped just outside the door and peered in at the dark room. "I thought…" She turned, frowning up at me again. "I thought I was going to be staying down in the cell?"

I gave a small shrug and moved to close the bedroom door with a huge grin. "Well if you'd prefer that I'm sure I can accommodate you."

She grabbed my wrist and stopped the door from closing completely. "No. No, that's not what I meant. I was just… expecting to be treated like a prisoner."

"Like your father?" She nodded. I rolled my eyes and began to pry her fingers from the death grip they had on my wrist. "I'm not such a cruel beast as to lock you up like that. You are the caretaker and it wouldn't benefit your work if you were locked up all the time."

She slowly released my wrist and blinked up at me, a huge mix of emotions I didn't care to decipher flashing through her eyes. She finally nodded and brushed past me. "I suppose that even though you're a greedy, evil bastard… I should thank you for this at least."

I turned away with a laugh but stopped and grabbed the edge of the door before it closed all the way. Annabelle peered at me questioningly. "I'll allow you two hours to get cleaned up and ready to work. Then I expect you to have breakfast ready for me soon after. Understand?"

She slowly nodded. "I have a question first."

"Yes?"

"Where is the kitchen? And where is the dining room?"

I chuckled and pointed over to the massive bed in the middle of the room. "I was kind enough to leave you a map outlining the entire mansion. It also lists the places you aren't allowed to go. Understand?" She nodded quickly this time and I gave her a small smile. "Good. Then off you go, Dearie."

I allowed her to close the door and headed back down the hall. I needed to get dressed. I hadn't meant to scare the poor girl by flashing some skin, but what happened had happened. I grinned as I played back the image of her flushed face after my comment. It was going to be adventurous having her around now, I could be my old mischievous self again it would seem. The day was looking up.

A.N - Mr. Gold being haunted by memories of Belle keeps reminding me of a song that I really love, Memories by Within Temptation. Mr. Gold's got it hard, and even just writing the pain he has of losing Belle after being so mean to her makes me wanna cry, HAHA. I hope you guys enjoy what I have so far! You all are awesome! RUMBLE+BELLE FOREVER! Bwehehe! *^_^*

A.N (2) - Just a tiny, itty-bitty heads up/peek into my head - If you find Mr. Gold giggling, I thought I'd tell you that it's his Rumplestiltskin characteristics coming out, haha. He's still Rumple, but took on the features of his past self and a new name. I'm sorry if I confuse you guys. Not my intention. It's just all of that is what I picture in my head, HAHA.

A.N (3) - Next chappie is going to be a massive turn of events. Mr. Gold is going to lose it. Grief can make a man's reasoning leave. Just thought I'd give you a heads up. From here on out, the story deepens. There'll be confusion, pain, anger, grief, lust. And yes, there will be some manly dominating, mwahahaha! I'm a sucker for S&M, kehehe. So buckle up and hold on for the ride *giggles* ~_^