Where has the time gone?! It feels like I just updated this story, only to then realize that I've let twelve days slip by without an update. My apologies!
You all should know in advance that since it's summertime (that oh-so busy time of the year) there may be bigger delays in between updates. I will certainly try not to let it exceed a week, two weeks is the limit. But if I fail to update on time, it's either because I had a long day at work, am stressed out with school and graduation, or am on vacation, and that I will be back as soon as possible!
And, finally, some good news. Gosh, I didn't want to spoil it...but I'm so freaking excited! This chapter introduces a character that is officially going to be promoted to main character status in this story. I have missed writing him SO much, and I know you all are going to go perfectly mad when you find out who it is! :)
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Belinda sighed with contentment as she sat curled up on his couch with her head resting on his shoulder. Her feet were resting on the plush cushion, his hand rested on her knee, and his head was laying upon her own. As if in response to Belinda, Mr. Gold sighed also and she couldn't help but smile.
"You know," he whispered against her hair, "I don't think this is necessarily an appropriate position for an employer and his employee. The town would find this scandalous."
She chuckled and snuggled deeper into his side. "Then I guess they'd better not find out."
"Do you want them to?"
Belinda turned her head so that she could look at him. "What do you mean?" She asked lazily.
"Would you ever want to go...public?"
Her eyes widened in shock. She hadn't really thought about announcing their new-found relationship to the rest of Storybrooke. After all, it had only been a week since that kiss in front of Granny's Diner, and she had thought all of this sneaking around was quite romantic. "I hadn't really thought about it," she replied simply and then smiled, "But it doesn't sound like that bad of an idea."
"That bad?" He teased her. "You make it sound like it's an awful idea to be in a relationship with Robert Gold."
"Oh, never." She was teasing him back, but she still meant every word. She didn't care what anyone else thought. And she told him so. Then, Belinda laid her head back down on his shoulder. "It was nice of Ruby to offer to watch Rose tonight. I think she's the only one who knows about us."
He snorted. "I hardly doubt she approves."
Belinda shrugged. "Perhaps not, but she still offered to take Rose so we could enjoy our night uninterrupted."
She could feel him smirk against her hair. "What exactly did Ruby think we would be doing that would be best without interruption?"
"I shouldn't say, but I doubt what we're doing right now is what she had in mind." She laughed and Mr. Gold joined in with her.
"Well, I'm sorry we're disappointing her," he replied as he laughed some more. Belinda moved her head to flash him a grin, and he kissed her. She moaned against his mouth. One of his arms snaked around her waist, his other hand cupped her cheek. He brought her close, but never close enough. Her fingers weaved into his hair, and she only pulled away when she ran out of breath. Mr. Gold would never cease to be struck by the endless amount of beauty that she possessed, and the way that she was looking at him blew him away. "Would I be entirely crazy-" he paused and took a deep breath as he stroked her cheek, "If I told you that I was unfathomably in love with you?"
He watched her eyes light up – with surprise or joy he couldn't tell – and then she smiled sweetly at him. "Not in the slightest." She pressed her lips to his again and then pulled away. "Would you think I was entirely crazy if I said the same thing?"
"Never," Mr. Gold replied, slightly dazed.
Belinda nodded her head and smiled at him. "Then I'm unfathomably in love with you."
Mr. Gold's heart filled to near bursting. After everything – even the curse, Regina, and false memories – they had found each other again. And she loved him. He kissed her and then murmured against her lips. "And I, you."
Of course, he knew things were far from perfect. They may love each other, but she still wasn't his Belle. She was her, but she also wasn't. She didn't have Belle's memories or her life. She was still Belinda French, that much hadn't changed, and it wouldn't change unless Emma could break the curse. He felt incredible happiness at finding her again, but he was deeply saddened, because Belinda was not Belle, no matter how much he wanted to believe that she was. He loved her because of Belle. If she had just been Belinda and him Mr. Gold, would he have ever even noticed her? He doubted it. Of course, he knew he should never doubt what fate had ordained from the beginning of time.
"What's wrong? Robert?" Her voice broke through his thoughts, and she was staring at him with concern in her eyes. "It's as if you just blacked out, right in front of me."
"Just thinking, dear," he replied a bit uneasily.
"About what?"
Mr. Gold stared at her and sighed. This lie was ripping him apart. He loved her more than anything or anyone, but she didn't know why and she had every right to know. She deserved to be told, and he couldn't believe he was actually doing this, but he couldn't bear the pain anymore. Belinda needed to know everything. "Belle, there's something I should've told you a long time ago."
Her eyebrows scrunched up but she still looked at him kindly. "What is it?" She pressed. "You can tell me anything, you know."
"This is seriously going to sound insane."
"I trust you."
Mr. Gold took a deep breath and then started, knowing full well that once he began down this path, he would never be able to stop. "My name isn't Robert." He figured that that was really the best way to start.
"What?" At first, she chuckled as if he was jesting, but then she became serious the longer he was quiet. "What do you mean?"
"My name is Rumpelstiltskin."
"Rumpelstiltskin?" She echoed in disbelief. "After that creepy spinner creature in the fairytale?"
He shook his head though. "Not after him. I am him." Belinda'e eyes widened in shock and she drew away from him just slightly.
"What are you talking about?"
"I am Rumpelstiltskin, the creature from the fairytale. Except I am so much more. Where I come from, I'm known as the Dark One, the most powerful sorcerer in the universe."
"'From where you come from'? Where do you come from?"
"From Fairytale Land," he explained.
Belinda spoke slowly in disbelief. "You're – a – fairytale – creature?"
He could tell she didn't believe a word he was saying. "Yes," he pushed adamantly.
"Then, why are you here?"
"The Evil Queen cast a curse that transported everyone from our home to this town in Maine. Even you, Belle."
She was silent for a second and then she shook her head. "Wait a minute. Belle? As in The Beauty and the Beast, Belle?"
He nodded his head. "That's the one." He took her hands and held them tightly, willing her to understand and believe him.
"Then, why don't I remember any of this, hmm?"
"The curse took all of our memories and replaced them with false ones about our lives. The only reason I remember is because, when I created the curse, I was able to put in a clause that ensured that I would remember when the Curse Breaker came to Storybrooke."
Belinda's eyebrows slanted even more. "Curse Breaker?"
"Yes, but that's not important right not. What's important is that I thought I lost you, Belle, when the curse came. And then, you started working at my shop. I didn't know who you were at that moment. And when I remembered, I remembered you, and realized I had found you! Even when I thought I never would again." He reached out to touch her cheek, but she moved away from him and stood up.
"You're scaring me, Robert."
He shook his head. "It's not Robert. I'm Rumpelstiltskin." He stood up so that he could look her in the eyes, so that she could see the truth in them, but she backed away from him. "Belle-" he reached out for her.
"Don't call me that, please. I'm Belinda. And the only reason you ever wanted to call me Belle was because you thought I was this fairytale princess from a storybook."
"You think I'm insane, don't you?"
Belinda frowned. "You know what I think? I think you've simply been spending way too much time with Henry. This is exactly the nonsense he believes in, and he's somehow convinced you that it's true. But, Robert...it's not! Don't you see?" She grabbed at his hand, but her touch wasn't wanted and he pulled away from her. She looked at him with sympathy and he hated it. "I think that a few visits to Dr. Hopper will set you right back on track."
"I'm not going to go to a shrink because I don't need to! Belle, everything I've told you is the solid truth. What do I have to do to prove it to you?"
"Use magic."
"What?"
Belinda's eyes hardened. "You said you are the most powerful sorcorer in the universe. So, use your magic. Show me."
Mr. Gold's lips tightened and his shoulders sagged. "I can't. Magic doesn't work here."
"How convenient," she replied in a hard tone and when he looked at her, he saw that she had gone from confused to angry.
"Belle-"
"No! No more. I didn't think I would ever say this, not to you, but this was a mistake. Because, Robert, or Rumpelstiltskin, or whoever the hell you think you are, this is the real world, and this is it. There are no fairytales or happy endings, or evil queens or princesses. There is no Rumpelstiltskin. And I am certainly not Belle. Can't you see that?" He was silent and she threw her hands up in the air. "You actually believe this crap! What does that make you then? Crazy? Insane? Or just downright mad?"
He gritted his teeth together. "I'm not insane."
"Then what are you?"
"In love with you!" He roared. "I swear, I'm telling the truth!" He reached for her and grabbed her arms tight, bringing her close and shouting into her face. "Please, you have to remember! Just remember! You have to!"
Belinda kicked him in the shin and then raised a hand and smacked him hard on the cheek. "Let go of me!" And he did. Without wasting a second, she picked up her purse, wrapped herself in her coat and ran to the door. When she turned around to look at him, her eyes were filled to the brim with tears. "You know, I should've listened to everyone in town, I should've stayed as far away from you as possible. Everything everyone said was true. But I chose to listen to you. You promised you would never hurt me. So what do you call this?! Just leave Rose and I alone!" She opened the door and stepped out into the pitch black night.
"Belle!" He called out to her. His fury had immediately dispersed when he realized that she was actually leaving him. "Belle, at least let me drive you home. It's not safe."
"Go to hell, Robert Gold!" She screamed back as she walked down his porch steps and onto the sidewalk. Within minutes, the black had completely engulfed her and she was gone.
Mr. Gold had no more strength left and he slumped down against the doorway, ignorant of the chill or the dark. His heart was shattered. He couldn't believe what had just occurred.
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Belinda walked for many miles, how far she didn't know. She didn't know how much farther she had until she reached her home. As far as she knew, she had taken every correct turn. The cold had seeped into her bones by now. She was wearing nothing other than a wind-breaker over her sweater, a skirt, and stockings. She cursed the cold, she cursed the dark, but most of all she cursed Robert Gold.
Her eyes were nearly blinded by the tears falling at a constant rate, her heart was breaking, her mind was steaming with anger. She no longer saw the sidewalk or the trees, the houses, or the road. She didn't notice that she had unconsciously stepped away from the sidewalk and was standing in the middle of the road, in the pitch black night.
She didn't care.
She fell to her knees as the weight of her pain crushed her. Belinda could barely breathe, and the darkness was stifling. She felt as if she was choking for air. Perhaps she was. Perhaps she was hyperventilating in the middle of the road and just didn't know it.
Belinda saw the headlights too late, heard the honking of the horn too late. Her head lifted up and she frantically got to her feet, trying to get out of the way, but in the dark it was near impossible to know where she was going. She twisted her ankle, and just as she did, the car swerved, but not enough to miss her. Belinda felt the bone-shattering impact, and she was unconscious by the time she hit the gravel beneath her.
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The driver unbuckled his seat belt and got out of his car as quickly as he could. His fingers were already dialing 911 into his phone and he raised the speaker to his ear as he knelt down by the girl.
"I just hit a woman with my vehicle." He was trying to keep calm. "I-I don't know. It was dark, and I couldn't see, and she was just kneeling in the middle of the road. I tried to swerve but I was too late." Per the operator's request, he inspected the woman's body. "It's so dark – I can't really tell anything. There's blood though. A lot of blood, and I think a couple of her ribs are cracked or broken." The operator asked him a couple of more questions, though he barely heard them and only supplied half-intelligent answers to them. After telling her where they were, he pocketed his phone, and looked at the woman who was lying stomach-down on the road.
He reached out in order to turn her over, his fingers brushing away the blood-coated hair that was matted against her forehead. When he finally saw her, the man let out a barely audible gasp. "Oh my god...Belle? What have I done?"
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Muahahaha! Cliffhanger! I know, I know, I'm evil. Which may or may not be an understatement. I don't know, is this a big cliffhanger, ya think?
Do you guys have any idea who our mystery man is?! I'm sure most of you have a pretty darn good idea. Review and let me know who you think it is! Virtual brownies to anyone who guesses correctly.