Belle excused herself from the Dark One after asking his permission to visit with him again in the morning. He consented, but was quick to remind her that he was no longer in a position to keep any promises.

"I might like to speak with you again but I'm sure your king would rather keep us apart."

She thought on this. "No. He believes you so harmless that he urged me to touch you after you brought me back from Arendelle. He never would have done so if he saw you as a threat."

He regarded her evenly, curious. "And what do you believe?"

"I believe that you would kill us all if it meant you could be free again. I believe that you are more dangerous than any force in the realm, more than any army or villain, more than any witch or twisted cleric. With such power, you have no need of weapons - you are the weapon. This is more than belief, this is truth."

The Dark One did not correct her.

Belle went on, "But even knowing this, I still thank you. And I would still like to speak with you if you would allow it."

The demon inclined his head toward her. "Tomorrow, then."

"Until tomorrow. Good night."

Belle mustered her courage once more in turning her back on him so that she might exit their exchange with dignity, and did not exhale until she was safely within her bedchamber.

By habit, Belle's feet lead her to her room and she was quick to close the door shut and lean her back against it. She gasped into her hand, suddenly sobbing and suddenly on the floor as her legs gave way, unable to support her. It was all too much - Belle was overwhelmed with happiness for her country and yet so conflicted with dread to know it was the Dark One held their debt.

And she who had dared to speak with him, dared touch him!

The Dark One may not be the evil monster he'd declared himself, but he was dangerous. The lives lost to him may yet rival those taken by the roving ogres.

Avonlea is safe, but the Dark One will have his due...

Belle felt her hands shake with gripping dread. Nightmares flitted in and out of her mind, each one worst than the last.

"My lady!"

Startled, Belled looked up to find her maid approaching. In her scheme to speak with the Dark One and the enormity of the impact he'd had, how easily she had forgotten that she had sent her maid on ahead to her rooms. Kala was older than Belle, yet the difference in their years was not so great that Belle could ever look to the woman as a mother figure.

No.

There had been only one Collette, one Queen of all Avonlea. One mother, never to be replaced no matter how many maids and ladies her father had assigned to her care.

Kala knelt down to Belle and put a hand on her shoulder, the other stroking the crown of her head. "My lady, please, what's happened?"

"I-I just, I spoke with him, he-"

"Who did you speak with?"

"The Dark One!"

Kala gasped, her hands stilling over Belle. She was no fool of a woman - she had seen a great many more horrors than Belle, and with her own eyes. She had been married to a shepherd, once. They had lived the simplest of lives. A life of sheep and goats, hard cheese and bread. Even with many prayers there had been no children. What had once seemed a curse Kala now knew was a blessing. Had she been with child when the ogres came upon their farm, she never would have survived the journey to the castle. Her husband had not been so fortunate. Her man had drawn the monsters attention, a distraction, so that she might escape. He had promised to find her. Here in the castle, Kala was still waiting for him.

The divine intervention of the Dark One had changed the tide for all Avonlea, but the demon was still a creature imbued with dark magic. Dangerous and cunning, with a penchant for ladies - Kala had seen for herself how the Dark One had basked in the naive attentions of an overly thankful court.

She lifted the princess's face, this girl she had been ordered to attend and held dear much like a young sister.

"Why did you speak with it, princess? How did you find yourself alone with that demon? Did it touch you?"

Belle's brows drew together at the questions even as tears swept down her cheeks. "I only wanted to thank him for what he did. He's saved us, Kala. Our freedom was bought with his enslavement."

"Yes. But as you said, Avonlea is free now. We can have back everything that we lost, perhaps even more. The Dark One will do whatever our king tells him, you've seen it yourself. The creature has no choice."

It was just as Belle feared with her father. Even the maid was showing her greed now.

Has even the hint of power corrupted us all so quickly?

"And the Dark One will only grow to hate us for it."

"All the more reason for you to stay well away." Kala scolded gently. "Don't be fooled like those ladies at the feast tonight. They were fawning all over him and you saw how he enjoyed the attention! He is a dragon made a man, he would steal us all away if he had the chance. If the king commands him to live in the dungeon then it would be better to let him stay there until called on. He is too dangerous to contend with."

Belle nodded and swiped at the tears on her cheeks, taking a deep breath to calm herself. She would find no balanced answer here. Kala saw the Dark One much as her father did, merely a living conduit through which Avonlea could be raised into a kingdom above all others. To them he was only a tool, a thing to be used at will - nevermind that he had a will of his own. A will that had been bound to the will of their king.

Get up, Belle. You must rise for your people.

She couldn't do this, allow herself to become overwhelmed. She was the sole heir to Avonlea. Soon she would be wed and wait to take her place as queen - and no woman, princess or queen, could lead her country while crying on the floor of her bedchamber.

She must rally, and she could see only one way to that end.

"You are right, the Dark One is clever and dangerous and he hates the lot of us." Belle took another breath and forced herself to her feet, drawing herself up to a most unimpressive height that came to be half a head shorter than her maid. "My father intends for the Dark One to stay here amongst us. Familiarity may breed friendship."

Kala shook her head, repulsed with what the royal hinted at. "The Dark One is a beast, my lady. You must not fool yourself into seeing him as the pet your father claimed him as at the feast."

She nodded in agreement. Tired, so tired. The entire world was changed in so short a time.

"I know that he is no pet. Perhaps the Dark One is a beast, but any beast can be tamed in time."

The sleep of the princess was a deep one, dreamless and dark.

The emotions of the night had drained her. The pure joy of seeing her father again, the immense swell of hope for her homeland and that crushing dread on learning the cost for its security. The awe of meeting the Dark One. The courage it took to speak openly with him. The resolve to befriend him.

Yes, Belle had fallen into her bed, exhausted and empty.

On waking, she only stared at the ceiling and wondered if it had all been a dream yet she knew her own mind.

It happened. All of it.

The young woman cleared her throat and rose from the bed. She didn't call for Kala; she was of a mind to be alone as she attended herself.

There was a jug of water at her basin for washing, and the clothing she'd left behind was still in the wardrobe. She took a deep breath as she considered her options. Being the heir to Avonlea, Belle had more to her wardrobe than any other woman, but with her country under siege her clothing had long since fallen out of fashion compared to what she had seen during her brief stay in Arendelle.

Would he care for such things?

From what Belle had noticed of him the night before, their powerful guest delighted in the attentions of women but she wasn't going to him with the intent to fawn over his power. She had already given her thanks in words. She meant to thank him in action.

Soon, and if at all possible, Belle would speak with the Dark One.

Washed, dressed and ready, Belle ventured out of her room.

She could hear the muffled activity of the castle - voices, the clanking of pots and pans from the newly-stocked kitchen and distantly, the neighing of the few horses the castle could boast. The king loved horses, Belle was sure he would command the Dark One to conjure a full herd of horses before the day was through.

The thought was amusing, but Belle didn't let herself linger on it.

Her plan, such as it was, was to engage the Dark One in a bit of wit. He'd seemed agreeable to her company on the landing the night before, perhaps he would be again. There were a fair few topics Belle wanted to ask of him, but she worried after his answers. He had already proven himself as having a sniping tongue. He would rather mock her, or argue or banter than speak of anything serious.

Still...

After her initial shock on seeing him, this legendary master of black magic, Belle had come to be consumed by her curiosity.

Once the guards had confirmed that the Dark One left his cell in the dungeon at dawn, Belle made something of a nuisance of herself by asking all who she passed in the corridors if they had seen him. Many had seen the Dark One passed, all of them thanking him, blessing him for what he'd done, but none knew to where he'd gone. Finally, a young maid with a golden ribbon in her hair happily volunteered that, after having served him a breakfast of pastry and sausage, she'd shown the Dark One to the courtyard where he now rested.

Thanking the girl, Belle left the castle and stepped into the sun. Squinting her eyes against the bright light, Belle realized with a hard shock that it was the first sunny day in years, the land itself was rejoicing at the defeat of the ogres and the chance to begin anew. The sky was blue, such a bright blue that Belle couldn't resist staring up at the open cloudless expanse.

It was a wonderful sight to see. It was the sky as the sky should be, clear and free of the horror of bloodshed.

The world around her was righting itself and it was all down to him.

"Thank you, Dark One." Belle murmured to herself, blinking away the brightness and scanning for their captive mage.

She saw many people in the courtyard. The orphaned children taken on by the crown were playing - playing! - to one side, the sky clear for the first time in many of their lives. A group of praying clerics were huddled to one side, seeming to argue and Belle was sure she knew why. That the Dark One was to thank for their rescue had greatly unsettled the men. A great reckoning would come from them, Belle knew.

She looked ahead as she passed the men, to the ladies of the court who had been present at the feast the night before. They were shabbily dressed with dark circles ringing their eyes, their bodies thin, but they wore something grander than any gown this day - they were all smiling.

Yes.

Hope had returned to Avonlea in the space of a day.

Those in the castle were witness to the great change, and Belle knew that her father had already ordered messengers to share the news with the surrounding kingdoms that the ogres were dead, that Avonlea was on the rise and that King Maurice held the Dark One on a leash. There was a fine threat in that piece of the message.

The king well remembered the friends of the crown who had sent knights and soldiers to Avonlea's aid, just as he remembered the noble families that had fled, the names of the knights who had abandoned their posts and all those who sought to benefit from Avonlea's downfall.

The Dark One's bloody work was not finished.

Belle refused to think of such things now.

She would enjoy the morning, the renewal that surrounded her. It seemed that on this, the first day of the new Avonlea, everyone wanted to find their place.

Ah, and there you are.

There, under the budding shade of a long dormant apple tree, sat the Dark One. She saw that he wore different clothing this morning than he had the night before. Still his clothing was of the first order, but today it was a waistcoat of thick scaled hide over a shirt of burgundy silk. Scaled sleeves hugged so close to his arms that it was difficult for Belle to discern where the scales of his clothing ended and his own scales began.

His legs were similarly attired in close-cut dark hide and she saw with a start that the creature worse no shoes as he had the night before in the main hall. His feet were bare, and, far from human, his feet were the talons of a raptor.

He is a beast, but he is not a monster. She reminded herself, a mantra. Beast, not monster. Beast, not monster.

Belle approached him carefully, noticing as she came closer that he was working some kind of magic, a faint violet glow sparking between his fingertips. It was most difficult to distinguish his expressions, but if Belle was not mistaken, he appeared frustrated - a furrow to his brow and his mouth was twisted into a sneer.

"Good morning, Dark One."

He jumped, clearly startled, and the light in his hands died away. "It seems the fae wards over the castle are holding. I cannot do much within your walls." He said, beating her to the question that was just on her tongue.

"The fae wards only hold against what magic would do us harm. You'll just have to find another way to kill us all, I'm afraid."

The creature flashed his fangs at her joke, and she wondered if dark humor was all he could appreciate, given his nature.

"Mmm. Don't tempt me. I don't need magic to poison your court."

Belle fell quiet at that, wondering if she had just provoked him to evil action with her teasing, but she still came forward the final few steps to sit beside him on the soft grass. The courtyard had been barren only the day before, it was his magic that renewed the land, starting in the castle itself. The Dark One cocked his head to the side as she settled across from him, looking for a moment like a curious animal. Belle was not so foolish as to mistake him for such - the Dark One was far from human in his looks, in experience and ability, but he was no animal.

He was beyond anything she had ever known, and yet he seemed interested in her.

"Princess, why do you approach me when all the other ladies of your court shy away?"

Belle raised a brow and glanced about the yard: there were many ladies of the court, strolling in pairs, reading on benches, and one of them was even playing a lute. She noticed that many of them looked upon the Dark One with open glances and smiles, but none would approach to speak with him.

"I noticed that myself. Why do they avoid you? None shied from you at the victory feast, I recall a line out the door who wished to give their thanks."

"Wine stirs bravery in us all. They shook hands with me, gifted me flowers and some even kissed me last night. Today they wear bruises from upset husbands." He grumbled.

Belle looked across the gardens to the ladies, many of them she had known well for years. "I see nothing."

"You see with human eyes. I am no longer so limited." He scoffed, a touch smug.

"You were once a man?"

He bit the inside of his cheek. He had not meant to let that slip, but what did it matter, really, for the princess to know such a hint of his past? "Perhaps I was." A half-truth, here. He had been born a man, but so few had ever given him that basic respect. "But I asked you a question."

Belle shrugged, "I took no wine at the feast, I approach you with a clear head now as I did last night."

He nodded. "No wine flows through you, but it is still unwise to be seen speaking with me."

"Why? If you are to be our guest-"

"I am no guest of your kingdom!" He snapped at her. "I was ripped from my home at your father's command and forced to prance before his court like a fool! And you speak to me like some visiting nobleman. I am no guest, I have been brought low and made a slave."

Belle could have slapped him for daring to raise his voice to her, she would have been well within her rights to do this. However, she did not. With every word, she learned more of him, this creature called the Dark One. Her expression remained calm, and when she spoke, her voice was gentle. "I do not see you as such."

He rolled his eyes at her, "Oh, no, you see me as the other ladies did at the feast. A mysterious stranger, some interesting diversion and worth thanking for a bit of magic that did away with the ogres. Such a pest you are, but I would not see you be beaten for your curiosity."

Belle smiled at him, his veiled admission of concern. "Fear not. My father cannot hurt me when it was he who told me to touch you in gratitude for banishing the ogres."

The mage huffed, "He said that in jest, as you well know. I would not have you pet my ears, princess."

Belle bit her lip to stifle a giggle at the thought of keeping the ferocious Dark One as her pet, and she hoped he did not notice the sudden blush that suffused her chest and cheeks. "No one should be touched against their will. I would not think to pet you. You are a man, not a pup."

Briefly, he looked away from her pretty eyes. "I am not a man."

"No, perhaps you are not a man. But neither are you the monster from the old stories. May I show you something?"

He narrowed his eyes as she began paging through the leather-bound tome she'd brought with her. It was a mortal book, he sensed no power within the pages. Had she brought him a book of poetry or adventure? The Dark One would not mind terribly if she asked that he read to her - he did so adore the sound of his own voice, but he would be just as content to rest against the tree while she read to him as well.

"What is that?"

"I pulled this from what remains of our library this morning. A book of your legends."

He looked over at the painted pages, taking in each character. The first was a living flame, laying waste to the world's villages; the next a horned, snarling beast gifted with the blue eyes of a man, the description below listing him as a cruel prince cursed by a desirable enchantress. He smirked at that, thinking poor Zoso might not have appreciated the comparison.

The final, and most outlandish depiction of the Dark One was that of a spike-tailed dragon larger even than the castle that surrounded them. It reminded him of the time he spent in a deal with Smaug, spinning a barn's worth of gold thread in exchange for the dragon's own eggshell. He leaned in, getting a closer look at the artist's use of gilt paint on the dragon's wings.

Lovely.

"And these are all meant to be me?" He wasn't sure whether or not he should be flattered.

"Yes. Is it true that you can change your shape?"

He shrugged, "I can do most anything, but it is a rare thing that I take on the shape of an animal."

"Why not?" Belle wondered. "It would be amazing, to change into an eagle and soar through the clouds-"

"It's a fine way to spend an afternoon, I grant you, but animal forms are none too useful, they're more for fun. Besides, I am beastly enough on my own." The Dark One clicked his claws together and regarded her. "Princess, why did you seek me this morning? What is it you want?"

Belle furrowed her brow at the question. "I don't catch your meaning."

"Let me speak more plainly, then. What do you want from me, hmm? A wardrobe of fine dresses and furs? Something more befitting a princess, surely." Belle felt like squirming under his gaze as he looked over her worn day dress. The mage was well-traveled, Belle knew from the stories that he had hoarded wealth the likes of which she could never dream of.

His eyes swept over the whole of her and then rested on her face, and Belle felt grossly unsettled. The demon was looking through her, searching her mind, her spirit.

"No, no. Perhaps you are more forward thinking, just like your father." He quietly snarled the word. "Surely you want more. Additions to the castle to rival any palace. No worries there for your king will be demanding them soon enough. Ah! I see it. You are fresh to your womanhood but you want what all women want - a child."

Belle said nothing, unsure of the game he was playing now.

The Dark One continued, "Yes, yes, a child! I should have known. So many have come to me, begging for a babe. None from Avonlea, mind you. Who could think to raise a child here among the ogres. Children are always the first to suffer. I know this all too well and you've seen it for yourself, haven't you?"

"Yes." Belle licked her lips. She closed her eyes for a moment and forced his words from her mind. She had come here for a reason, she could not let him deter her with mention of the countless children that had suffered under the invasion of their country. To linger on them in grief would do no good. What she did now was in effort to prevent any further loss or discord in the future. "Dark One, I did not come to you for pretty things or a child. I wanted to prove my gratitude in the only way I can."

"Ah, and how would that be? A bit of thievery from that fool on the throne?" The Dark One waggled his eyebrows at her, teasing.

"I will not take the dagger from my father. You told me you will kill him the first chance you have."

"Ah, yes." He sighed. "Seems I painted myself into a corner by telling you that much."

"I know he humiliated you last night and I am sorry for that. It's the hope you've brought to our land...I believe the king to be intoxicated by it. Hope after a decade of despair, I'm sure you can imagine...or perhaps you can't."

"Can I imagine a mere decade of hopelessness? Oh, yes I can."

"Then you understand why my father wants to keep you."

"Do I-? Yes, girl, I know exactly why your king will keep me. It's the power of hope. Your king is drunk on it."

"Yes. I wish it were not so. You are not a thing to be used whenever it suits someone else. I've...before last night you were only a character in books to me but now...it's all changed." Belle looked to him and he saw that tears shone in her eyes. The enormity of what he'd done escaped him - he had lived as the Dark One for so long that he had forgotten how to appreciate the perspective of others. Here was a princess who had said goodbye to her father and homeland, fully expecting and accepting that she would be heir to nothing by the year's end. She would have no country, no family, her very culture would be gone from the world. She had grieved for Avonlea, only to be pulled back by magic and shown the true cost of their desperation.

"You, me, all of our lives are different now for having known each other. If I could trust you would leave my people unharmed, I would free you, but you spoke your truth, Dark One." The princess took a deep breath. "No. I'm sorry but I cannot free you. Not now, while you are so furious, so wild...I have thought on this. While the king keeps you here, you will not be treated like a slave or ignored until the king has a use for you. Not by me. I offer my friendship."

The strange eyes of the Dark One widened at her words. "You want to be friends with me?"

"Yes. Truly, it's all I can give you now."

"I'm far out of practice but last I knew, friendship needs trust." The Dark One sneered at her. "As it is, there is none between us."

"That may change with time. As it is, you have all the time in the world. Wouldn't you prefer your time in Avonlea to be made more pleasant by me?"

"Clearly you think very highly of yourself if you think I'll come to see you as the one bright spot of my time here."

"I do. Someone needs to argue with you to keep your wit sharp." Belle returned easily, openly enjoying this light banter with him. Throughout their exchange she had felt the band of tension unwinding over her heart. Once she had accustomed herself to his inhuman appearance she found herself enjoying their talk.

For all his magic and power, the Dark One was fun to spar with.

"Mmm...perhaps you're not as foolish as you look." He granted.

Belle gave him a mock bow. "Why thank you."

"Fine. You may speak with me as you please, though somehow I'm sure you would have done so whether I accepted your company or not."

He was fast learning the spark of Avonlea's little royal pain.

"Ah, perhaps I'm not the only one with more brains than one would think."

"Touche, princess." And for the first time since being summoned to the land of Avonlea, the Dark One smiled.