I do not own Once Upon a Time
Hi guys, thank you for all the support you are giving to me! You have no idea how much this is important! Well, now we are almost in the end, and things are going to be a little more complicated! Hope you all enjoy and please, share your thoughts! We writers are very insecure people and any comments mean the world to us! :D
Each station, Belle felt her body tense. There were huge numbers of Germans throughout the length of the route to Montluçon and platforms were full of Nazi soldiers. The wagon was not warmed up and had no comfort, but Belle realized that both Laura as Mary Margaret had managed to sleep. Besides the fear of being caught, every time Belle closed her eyes, the horror of the night that Gaston had attacked her continued to assault her senses. Now Belle could see how much Gold had comforted her and send her nightmares away from her mind when they were together.
At the station there was before Montluçon, the ticket collector passed among the passengers, warning that the Germans were on board, checking the documents of the passengers on the train. Belle's heart pounded in her chest as she woke Laura and James woke Mary Margaret to alert them. All in the wagon were preparing for danger. The smell of fear was palpable. Belle wondered, while looking for that diverse group of human beings, how many other passengers were traveling illegally.
A German officer entered the wagon and ordered everyone to show their documents. All eyes were resting on him as each row of passengers was verified. Laura, Mary Margaret, James and Belle were in the last row, and the agony of waiting until he got where they were seemed endless.
"Fräulein, document!" Roared the German to Laura, who was sitting at the end of the row.
"Of course, monsieur," Laura replied, handing him the papers with a friendly smile. He examined the papers and then returned to face her.
"Where these documents were issued, Fräulein?"
"In the city hall of my hometown, Chalon."
He returned to examine the roles and shook his head.
"These documents are false, Fräulein. Not have the correct stamp. Get up! "
Laura stood up, trembling, and the German took his gun from his holster, pressing it against the woman's belly.
"Monsieur, I'm an innocent citizen, I don't intend to hurt anyone. Please... I...".
"Aus! Silence! Exit the train now!"
While Laura was escorted out of the wagon in sight of the gun, she didn't turned in the direction of Mary Margaret and Belle.
If she let out any sign that they were traveling together, they could also be arrested. A few seconds later, the train whistle sounded and the composition came to move.
All the people were staring at the place where Laura had been sitting. James grabbed the hand of Mary Margaret and squeezed it tightly, to warn her that she should not say anything, and shrugged, with a disinterested gaze. The woman was just another passenger traveling beside her. At Montlucon, the three down from the train to wait for the connection that would lead to Rodez. James led Mary and Belle to one of the banks of the platform.
"My God, James!" Mary Margaret said, desperate. "Where did they take Laura? What will happen to her? ".
"I don't know, Mary" James replied, trying to keep calm. "But there was nothing we could do. At least, I trust that Laura didn't say anything about us, and will not to who she worked in Paris. She loves you and your family."
"Oh, James, she has been with me since I was born!" Mary cried. "How can I ever live without her?"
"You have me" James said, touching her hand affectionately. "I'll take care of you. I promise."
Belle watched sadly as James consoled his wife. Belle knew that Laura would never return.
When the train to Rodez arrived, Belle embarked apprehensively. If Laura documents were easily identified as fakes, then she, James and Mary would also be carried. And it was only by chance that the documents of Laura were checked before and theirs were ignored.
The journey to Rodez took just over two hours. Belle looked at the various villages which now, in early December, appeared a gray gloomy. Belle was shivering and she expected to find heat when they got to the château.
Fortunately, the train trip had no complications and they landed in Rodez station amid heavy rain. When the train came to follow his path the small number of passengers dispersed. A few minutes later, James came into the station, pushing two bikes.
"The château is located five minutes away if we use bicycles."
James rode the bumpy road with Mary Margaret clinging to him. Belle followed and several minutes later, as raindrops dripped down her black hair, James left the main road. A few meters after entering the sideline, he stopped and let Belle reached them.
James helped Mary Margaret to get off the bike, and indicated that Belle would do the same. "We need to walk from that point as the trail is too hard for the bikes. We are entering the back of the château, on a route that will take us directly to the vineyards and the cellar. The good news is that we didn't cross with anyone since we left the station," he said while driving on bumpy and muddy track. "The rain was on our side."
"We're almost there?" Belle said.
"Almost. We'll get to the cellar in a few minutes." Mary said comforting her.
"Johanna is waiting for us," James said.
The sound of that name seemed to accelerate the footsteps of Mary Margaret. A large structure and well cared appeared within sight of Belle, and James opened the huge wooden doors of the place. Belle wanted to cry with joy when managed to get out of the rain.
The interior of the structure was a vast, dark space filled by the smell of fermenting grapes. Huge oak barrels were placed against the walls and a figure appeared in the door that stood between two of those artifacts.
"Mary? It is you?" Whispered the voice from the shadows.
"Johanna" Mary Margaret held out her arms, and a small woman and heavyset, with about forty, her face marked by wrinkles and tanned by working under the sun, approached her.
"My Mary! Thank God you're okay!" The woman hugged her tightly against her strong chest and Margaret Mary cried on her shoulder. Johanna stroked her hair soaked and whispered in her ear affectionately.
Belle and James watched the demonstration of affection in silence. Then Johanna looked at them.
"James, dear, thank you for bringing Mary home." She said, her voice choked with emotion. "Someone saw you coming?"
"Johanna, we couldn't see two centimeters ahead under all this rain." James laughed. "There could be no better time. And Johanna, this is Isabelle." Presenting Belle, James and Johanna looked at each other as if that name meant something important.
"Oh, of course. Well, my home fireplace is lit and you both need to change those wet clothes. Follow me," Johanna said to James and Belle as she guided Mary Margaret between huge vats to the other door. As she opened it, took them to a kitchen tidy, and blessed warmth against Belle took her to enter a small living room with wood burning some logs in the fireplace.
"I'll go and get dry clothes for you. Those who you brought the luggage will be so soaked as those who you are now using" Johanna said, indicating the leather case that left a puddle on the stone floor.
Later, Johanna emerged from the kitchen with a tray of coffee and placed it on the coffee table.
Belle took the coffee in silence, listening to Mary Margaret talk with Johanna. She asked the maid about the winery workers.
"Unfortunately, Mary, I'm the only one left. All others left to fight in the war or were sent to Germany to work in armament factories. They left me here because I produce alcohol that serves as fuel for their torpedoes. There is a factory that makes them a few hundred miles from here."
"But I thought there were few Germans here." Belle said. "I thought this place was safe."
"We all live in fear, as in Paris" Johanna said, and looking at Mary, continued. "Unfortunately a lot has changed since the last time you were here. There was an execution in public a few weeks ago. The Germans shot four civilians. These are difficult times and we all need to be very careful."
"But the château?" Belle said.
"The château is closed two years ago."
"But we're going there!" Belle stood up, looking at Mary Margaret and James. "You said you were going to the château... You said to Adrian..." She mumbled, feeling the fear take her. How he was going to find her if he did not know where she really was?
Mary held Belle's hand.
"Isabelle, we will not live in the château. It's too dangerous for you."
"Dangerous for me? How so? The Gestapo is looking for you and James... I know it's dangerous for you both... But nobody knows who I am." Belle said. She could not understand why they were worried with her, and not with themselves.
Mary Margaret looked pleadingly at her husband, not knowing what to say to the young. James held Belle's hand, looking at her fearfully.
"Isabelle, my dear friend, you need to understand that you cannot be seen here. Gold did not explain to you?"
Belle looked stunned to James and to Mary Margaret. "Explain? Explain what?"
James sighed and confirmed his suspicions, asking for Belle to sit. He didn't want to be in charge of talking to her the truth.
"I thought he told you... Two days ago, when Jefferson came to our house, he told us that the Gestapo was not looking for us, but you. We ran away to protect you."
"looking for me?" Belle knew there was something more behind what they was telling.
"We brought you to the château not to dwell on it openly. You would be captured by the Germans as they take knowledge of your presence "James explained, again.
"It's because of Gaston, is not it?" She realized bitterly that for that German, it was not enough to have destroyed her soul, but he needed to destroy her completely; her dreams, her desires, her hopes... "It's not just me that he wants, isn't it?" Belle did not needed an answer to that question. She knew that Gaston would discount his anger in the only man she really loved, and it was then that she realized what that meant. "He... He will not come back... Adrian, will not come back?"
James looked away from the woman; could not bear to see the pain that this finding brought to Belle.
"He wouldn't let me bring you here if you he didn't know you'd be safe. There is a safe hiding place that you can use until the war ends. And you will not have to stay there for a long time, I assure you."
"Where is this hiding place?" She asked with a trembling voice.
"We will show you later, after we eat." Said Mary Margaret. But all the appetite that Belle had, disappeared. She would never see Adrian Gold again... She turned the ring he had given her, and almost collapsed into tears right there to remember the promises they had made to each other.
"Mary Margaret, don't leave me here!" Belle whispered. "I will not survive alone. Please, you have to stay with me." Begged, looking for Mary's hand.
Belle had to believe that one day she would see Gold, but there, at that moment, she was fragile and that hope seemed impossible. Needed to find someone who could give her comfort and courage.
"Of course I will not abandon you, Belle" Mary said, although she find a strange request.
"Thank you." Belle said, feeling a little relieved, and Mary Margaret realized that instinctively the English put a protective hand over her stomach to say that. Belle looked back at James. "The hiding place is here? In this house?"
"No, that would be impossible. The Germans come here often whenever they want to fill their bellies with wine and their torpedoes with alcohol that the winery produces." Johanna said with a long sigh. "As Mary said, let's take you there after we eat."
When she was sure that Belle slept, Mary Margaret went to the kitchen of the house and helped Johanna washing pans and dishes. Johanna's face had a serious expression as she kept the dishes in the cupboard.
"The place where Belle will have to hide will not be of her liking, though I tried to leave it as comfortable as possible. It will be a great torment for her... For any human who can see, I think it really is a fate worse than death. Let's hope it will not be long until the war ends and Belle can be free."
"May we all be free" James said, entering the kitchen.
"She should be taken there as soon as possible. I didn't mention it in front of her, but the Gestapo was here yesterday, doing a search across the cellar and the château. Yet they will never find the place where she will be hidden. " Johanna said. "Poor girl... But what she did to be persecuted in this way? ".
"Fell in love with the wrong man" James sighed. "Gaston is looking for Isabelle because she was brave enough to reject him. He just cannot understand what made her fall in love with Gold."
"Gold? But he is as bad as the German. Gold betrayed his country".
"I agree, but sometimes the badge that you are forced to use does not necessarily indicate the type of person you are. Or to who you really are loyal." James shrugged. "So this is the situation.".
"So it's even more important that Belle keep hidden. And yet, I cannot say what will be the consequences for her when the war finally comes to an end." Johanna said, her voice serious.
Mary Margaret shook her head once more.
"War turns us into fools, in several ways. And now, ruined the life of a beautiful young woman. But... Not for us to make a decision about her future. Let's hope Gold survives the hunt that the Germans are waging against him. For now, we'll have to do what we can to protect her. ".
Later that night, James and Mary Margaret led Belle back to the cellar where huge vats of wine, built with oak Russians wood rested, six feet high, to protect and stimulate the fermentation of liquid inside .
James stopped in front of a barrel near the back of the cellar. Then stood on a ladder in front of the huge faucet, removed it and entered the barrel. While Belle and Mary Margaret waited, they heard the sound of boards moving within the structure. Finally, James's head appeared through the hole.
"You will have no trouble getting here," James said.
Mary climbed the stairs and disappeared into the blackened barrel.
"Now it's your turn, Isabelle" James's voice echoed through the interior of the structure. Belle went upstairs and repeated the same process. When she looked inside the barrel, saw three of the boards were removed at its base. Mary Margaret and James, who was holding a lamp, were in the darkness under the barrel. She slipped through the hole and was soon beside them.
"Follow me," James said, grabbing Mary with one hand and holding the lamp in the other.
Belle bent while trying to sneak through the narrow passage; the place had a intense darkness. The tunnel seemed to stretch endlessly. Although not claustrophobic, even Belle was shaken when James reached a low door and unlocked. The three entered a small room, which, as Belle realized, had a small window and was surrounded by railings installed in the brick wall. When Belle's eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw that there was a bed, a chair and a dresser. There was even a mattress placed on the floor of rough stones.
"Where are we, James?" Belle asked, feeling suffocated there.
"We're in the basement of the château." James said. "The side door lead to the cellar. You'll be safe here, Isabelle."
"You mean I'll have to stay down here? In this place cold and wet? And raisins all days and nights locked up in here?" Panic began to take care of Belle. "You cannot leave me down here, James, please."
"Belle, honey" Mary Margaret held Belle's hand. "Since no one can see into the château through the doors of the house, of course you can climb the stairs, since all windows and shutters are closed. And maybe take a walk in the walled garden, where no one can see you. But, for your own safety, and certainly during the next few days, this is where you have to stay."
No. She could not stay there, in that awful place, stuck with only her thoughts, Belle would go crazy if she had to stay there.
"Please don't leave me here." Begged Belle, but that was a battle a long ago lost.
"The person who designed this room was smart." James said, ignoring the pleas of Belle and continued. "There are two outputs" He went to the wall across the room and turned the key in the lock of a small door. Opening it, Belle saw that there was a huge cellar. James took her until the end of the room and indicated a ladder. "These are going to take you to the back of the château. Since we never open the windows of the house, you can use the kitchen to get water and prepare food for you. Never, under any circumstances, light the fire or fireplace. We are in a valley and who are in the village will see the smoke."
Belle nodded, feeling a little more reassured because there was another way, more palpable, to leave the dungeon.
"I'll leave you with Mary Margaret so she can accommodate you. Tomorrow, you can go inside the château, where you can take a shower and get some clothes. Again I emphasize that you should never light up the château during the night . People could see it from miles away and it would alert people about your presence." He reiterated.
When James left, Belle sank in bed. Mary Margaret sat beside her and held her hand.
"Belle, my dear, have courage. You just need to stay here during the night... I think it's a small price to pay for your safety."
Belle bit her tongue to retort the woman. The price that Belle was paying was much taller than Mary Margaret believed.
The price for her safety would be the death of her beloved Adrian, who was unprotected in the world above her prison, with Germans pursuing his every step.
Belle began to wonder bitterly what had happened in her life that was sent to France as an SOE agent, and now had to hide in the darkness of her cage, begging the heavens to the demons of her dreams does not come to torment her.