Walk around the Library
Chapter 3
Regina eyed the young woman that entered the diner critically. She wore a jeans and a ratty t-shirt with the words 'The Book Was Better' imprinted on it.
The girl was tiny. Barley reaching Robin's upper arm.
Belle smiled at Regina. Warmly.
That surprised her. Not many people did that. Not even at first sight.
Regina guessed that it was some kind of vibe that she gave off.
As the girl came closer, Regina stood to greet Belle.
She stretched out her hand "Hello Miss French, pleasure to finally meet you"
Belle smiled at her, ignoring her hand and hugged her instead.
"Call me Belle!" she chirped happily "Robin has told me all about you"
Belle turned to her son "And you must be Henry! Both Robin and Roland speck very highly of you"
Henry beamed at her and they both hugged.
Regina noted that they were the same height. Her boy was growing, she thought affectionately.
"Hi Belle. I'm excited for the library to be reopened" Henry told her
"So am I!" Belle exclaimed "I heard you like to read?"
Belle sat down across Henry
"More like love it!" Henry exclaimed
Belle started to ask Henry questions about the books that he liked and engaged Roland to the conversation quite easily. Regina was shocked at how easy it was for the girl to talk to both boys so readily and was able to keep them both interested. Robin and Regina both struggled with it on the best of days.
Robin leaned in close to whisper in her ear "I told you she had a gift"
She hummed in understanding.
Regina didn't want her paranoia to get in the way of this but she couldn't help but begin to worry. I her head it was much easier, she imagined Belle to be overweight, bookish nerd but she truly was everything she feared Belle was… beautiful, intelligent, easy going, friendly, but mostly she was a threat.
How did Robin's late wife ever trust this girl around her husband?
Her son's laughter brought her back from her dazed
"So long story short never say to me the movie was better" Belle chimed
Henry and Robin laughed but the joke seemed to go over Roland's younger head, but he smiled up at his godmother.
Regina smiled at Belle.
The girl seemed nice but Regina didn't trust her.
Trust needed to be earned.
Regina wondered how this little delicate… child was going to fair against the monstrous Mr Gold. Poorly she guessed. He'd eat the girl alive.
"So there is an apartment over the library?" Belle asked
"Yes you will be renting it from the landlord of the library, Mr Gold" Regina told her "But he gave me the keys, I have paid your first month's rent, as a welcome to Storybrooke'
"But tomorrow first thing you will have to go and see Mr Gold" She finished
A flash of resentment crossed the young women's face but was gone so quickly that Regina thought that she imagined it. Glancing at her other half, he was eyeing Belle suspiciously as well.
Belle then smiled warmly at Regina "Thank you very much Regina, paying the first month's rent for me was a very unnecessary kindness"
Regina raised an eyebrow.
She truly was a curious girl, this Belle.
-RumBelle-OutlawQueen-
After Robin had helped Belle settle into her small flat he took the short drive back to the Mayor's house, where Roland and he spent the majority of their nights lately.
He couldn't stop thinking of what happened earlier between Gold and Belle. He had never seen her look that angry at someone before. He didn't hear what was said but he could tell that it was too heated for two people that had just meet. It almost seem passionate. Bittersweet.
No it was all those things and more…
One thing he knew for sure from the strange little encounter was that Belle and Gold knew each other.
But How? When? Where?
Robin knew for a fact that although Belle was well travelled she had never stepped foot in Storybrooke before.
Gold was Scottish… Belle lived there for several years.
Even going as far as working as working as a live-in caretaker for some rich prick.
Maybe Gold and the rich prick where friends?
Who know, Robin thought, Belle will tell me when she is ready
He decided that he had better not tell Regina… He loved the woman but when it came to Gold there was no stopping her from doing something crazy to hurt the man, and he'd rather not put Belle in the firing range.
Parking his car, he hopped out and jogged to the door.
"Honey, I'm Home!" Robin called out
He loved teasing the woman.
"Very funny, I'm in the living room" Regina called out
Entering the room, the first thing that he saw was his love spread out on the sofa, no makeup, wearing a sexy little night gown, a glass of wine in hand, watching a Friends rerun.
Robin felt the smile spread across his face.
He leaned on the doorway
"If only the villagers could see their Evil Queen now"
Regina turned and stuck her tongue out at him "Don't even joke! That is probably how they refer to me!"
Robin chuckled and moved closer till he was sitting on the sofa with her feet on his lap. Regina put the glass down, and stretched out further on the sofa as Robin began rubbing her feet.
"That's not how Belle sees you anyway, she likes you"
"Wait till she gets to know me" Regina quipped
Robin shock his head and tickled her feet.
Regina gasped and trashed around trying to escape him. It only made him hold on tighter.
"Ple…ase, sssss-top!" Regina begged between gasped giggles
But he didn't, not until he was satisfied that his punishment was carried out and she was breathless, just how he liked her.
"Put yourself down like that again, Madame Mayor, and I swear I put you over my knee" Robin told her sternly
"Oh will you now?" Regina asked
She bit her lip, not wanting Robin to know just appealing the idea was to her.
Robin hummed
"Yes, and it will go on and on until you scream out for your one true love" Robin told her
"Can't wait" Regina sighed
Robin pulled her up till she was straddling him on the sofa.
"And would you like to know who that would be?" Robin asked
Regina started to unbutton his shirt and kiss the exposed area.
"I can guess" she murmured
"Sidney Glass"
Regina's lip froze just at the base of Robin's neck.
"Nope, moment ruined" Regina jumped off his lap and disappeared into the hallway.
Robins booming laughter followed after her as she walked to the kitchen to get water.
It started as a joke after they role-played as Madame Mayor and faithful villager. Even now she still blushed at the thought of that night, she was in control of everything that night and it felt amazing. Robin was so trusting and loving to even suggest the idea to her. Most men that she had been with in the past wouldn't dream of letting her have any more power in the relationship but Robin just said that she was her most confident and therefore at her most sexist when she was in power.
But afterword's he had to ruin it.
They were laying on the rug is her office.
He completely naked.
And she only in her favourite pair of stilettos.
When he turned to her and said "Is it wrong that during the start I felt like that little rat Sidney Glass?" She forbid him from saying it ever again so of course he says it every chance that he gets.
She shivered again at the thought.
-RumBelle-OutlawQueen-
The little apartment over the library was lovely. It was simply furnished with her bed and sofa already been sent over from her last place.
That was all the furniture she needed at the moment.
She never really needed much over the years.
Belle used to travel ten months out of the year.
She backpacked while writing her novels on paper and when she got home November and December she would type it up, edit it and send it to her publisher.
Then she would be away again.
It helped her forget.
But it wasn't very practical.
So a few years ago she got a job at a running down library and completely turned it around.
And now she intended to do the same here.
But this is different.
Robert Gold was here.
She couldn't run away.
This was going to suck.
Flashback
Getting out of the taxi Belle stared up at the largest house that she had ever seen in her life. Belle stared at Neal.
"You live here kid?" Belle asked in shocked awe
Neal blushed took her hand and lead her to the door.
Belle knocked.
A moment later the door swung open and a large man loomed over the pair.
"Master Neal, your father has been worried" The man told him
"I'm sorry Mr Dove" Neal said squeezing Belle's hand
He grunted "Your father is in his study"
"Come on Belle" Neal tugged on her hand
"Neal do you think this is a good idea?" Belle hissed
Neal said nothing but lead her on deep into the house.
He stopped at the end of one long corridor.
Belle could hear a muffled voice shouting down to some poor soul.
"I want my son found now, I want him safely taken home"
"He sounds worried to me" Belle whispered
"Sometimes you have to remind Dad how much family means to him" Neal whispered back
Belle reached foreword and knocked the door.
"Come in!" The man snapped
Neal opened and ran into the room "Papa!"
The man turned around "Neal!"
Neal's father was a man in his early forties by Belle's guess, he held onto a golden handled cane as tightly as he could. He wore a perfectly tailored three-piece suit. His greying hair was close to reaching his shoulders. Belle found him surprisingly attractive.
Neal ran forward and hugged his father around the waist. His father pulled him closer and hugged Neal closer.
Belle smiled softly at the scene of clear parental love.
"Neal, son, where the hell have you been" He whispered
"Around" Neal shrugged
"Please don't do that again" He begged
He looked up and noticed her for the first time. He frown.
"And you are?" He asked
Belle blushed.
"This is Belle! She convinced me to come home! She is super nice" Neal praised
He looked down at his son then back to Belle.
"Thank-you" The sincerity was clear in his voice
Belle shock her head "No bother"
She looked down awkwardly
"Neal, I should go. Please don't do anything risky like that again, remember your father missed you" Belle winked at him
She quickly made her exist.
End of flashback
Belle sighed at the distant memory.
It was a long time ago.
Her first encounter with the infamous Robert Gold.
As much as it hurt now she would never regret meeting Neal, taking him home and all the decisions she made after that.
Still the thought of tomorrow, it worried her.
She looked down at what she was wearing. Something like this would simply not do from now on, not if she knew that she would be seeing him allot around town.
Belle sighed, who knew that moving to such a small town could cause so many problems in the form of one man.