Belle looked at her reflection in the mirror. She knew this was the only mirror here but it was normally covered. It'd been a while since she'd seen her reflection. Her skin was flushed with work, her hands grubby from scrubbing vegetables, yet she looked better for it. Her golden dress was gone, and in its place was a beautiful blue dress. It was much more practical. The room reflected in the mirror was once again in darkness, although she and the mirror were bathed in light. She turned away from the mirror to face the room behind her. She knew it was the same room as before, despite the darkness. 'Do you see me now?' the voice asked from before her, again cloaked in the shadows. 'How can I see you when you hide in the dark?' Belle asked. She could tell the voice came from just in front of her, but blindly reaching out she felt nothing, and could see nothing. 'Why do you resolutely hide in the light, refusing to open your eyes and blind to what is in plain sight?' the voice replied, seduction in every syllable. Belle breathed heavily. She knew that voice. It brought back memories. No, not memories, more like feelings. Lust, passion and love. And a little fear. The voice held power. The voice could force her to succumb to every whim that his lips warranted but she knew he wouldn't. Knowledge of that and thoughts of what she could do sent desire coiling around her. 'Give me something to look at' she riposted. At this, the figure appeared slowly, the darkness receding. He was facing toward her but his head was bowed, and she could make out nothing of his features, except for his hair. He had long unkempt hair, reminding her of her husband's. The figure's hair looked coarse and straggly, but she knew if she touched it it would be soft. And he wore the most outlandish clothes since, well since ever. She'd never seen anything like it. So much leather. He wore leather trousers, well fitting and showing his legs off wonderfully and a loose red shirt with a leather waistcoat over the top. The figure before her exuded danger and she felt an undeniable attraction. 'See me now?' he asked softly. 'Who are you?' Belle asked again. 'The real question, dearie, is who you are. Once you remember that, you'll remember me.' The figure turned away as the darkness rolled in and disappeared.
Isobel woke up abruptly again. Always the same; she'd dream of this figure, and wake straight from the dream. Almost as if she was struggling to remember them but she could always remember them clearly. Struggling to remember the source of the dream she thought groggily, wonder what Dr Hopper will make of that one.... Looking at the clock, it was nearly time to get up anyway. She went to the bathroom to wash the dream away, resolving to forget it for now.
Friday passed much the same as every other day at the library. She enjoyed the routine and the customers very much, and being surrounded by books was a dream come true. I must be really sad if this is my life's dream Isobel reflected cheerfully. She was looking forward to tonight. A date with her husband. Who would have thought...
Mr Gold stood in his bedroom facing his wardrobe clad only in boxers and a burgundy shirt, various ties and shirts strewn over his bed in a forgotten heap as he had whittled his choices down to a black shirt or burgundy shirt. 'Should I wear my Armani suit with the burgundy shirt, or should I wear my other Armani suit with a black shirt?' Gold pondered as he looked at his options. Who knew clothing in this world would be so...samey. All his suits were pretty much identical, the only option being in the colour of his shirt. And leisure wear? He had none, unless he wanted to count his silk pajamas as leisure wear. And he was fairly sure that it was far too early in their relationship for Isobel to see him in his PJ's. 'Why does every piece of clothing I own make me look as if I am on my way to a board meeting' he wondered in exasperation at his cursed identity's choice in fashion. Nothing appropriate for a date with the love of his life. He was Rumplestiltskin, The Dark One, the stealer of babies, scourge of the world, with centuries of power and evil behind him, yet here he was preening like a peacock over his maid, well his former maid. Currently estranged wife. Although there had been no wedding. Gold rubbed his forehead, inwardly cursing the vagaries of the curse he was ultimately responsible for. Removing the burgundy shirt, he replaced this with the black shirt for the umpteenth time in one hour to see how it looked against his eyes and skin, and commenced parading up and down in front of his mirror to ascertain it's suitability for a date.
Isobel had an easier time of it. Looking at the blue dress hanging over the edge of her bedroom door she remembered how her husband liked to see her in blue. He once said it reflected her eyes, and he'd been mesmerised by her beauty and elegance. Once. A long time ago, before his love for her froze over and he stopped noticing her. She threw the dress to one side and picked out a knee length red dress from her wardrobe. If Gold wanted to push the divorce she would make no concessions to their past love by dressing to please him. Assuming however that this was not the case he would still find her attractive in red.
True to his word Gold rang the intercom to her apartments at 20:00 precisely. She wondered if he had been waiting outside with a timer to make sure he was exactly on time. Isobel glanced at herself one final time in the mirror. She had dressed with care despite her misgivings. Her husband hadn't paid any attention to her in a long time, she'd nearly forgotten what a date was, and she was determined to make an effort. Smoothing down her red dress, perfectly proportioned to exhibit her legs, and tucking an errant brunette curl behind her ear, she made her way downstairs. Gold was stunned at the vision of beauty that appeared before him. He wondered how he was going to behave himself with his Isobel looking like that. Proudly he took her arm, enjoying the fact that she looked this good for him. This is for my benefit, and no one else's, he thought possessively. Talking inconsequentially about their days, he escorted her to Granny's diner. He'd make her pay for the choice of venue. Then he recollected this was his fault ultimately. You don't spend time in the presence of the Dark One without the evil nature rubbing off on you and in Isobel choosing Granny's Diner as their destination for the evening Gold was certain that this eclipsed even he at his most evil and depraved.
The diner, a hubbub of activity on a Friday evening, fell into silence at Gold's entrance. Jaws fell on the floor, cups of coffee were spilled, forks of food left meandering halfway between the plate and mouth. Isobel pulled him into a booth along the side, sheltered slightly from the other diners but they were still, uncomfortably for him, too close to the other diners. Gold cleared his throat and looked around at the faces staring in disbelief at the devil in their midst. "I would strongly recommend that if you do not want your rents increased exponentially, you all renew your interest in your meals" Gold threatened, feeling exposed. Isobel laughed. She'd always appreciated his public displays of possessiveness in the early days of their relationship; his antiquated ways made her feel...special. The other patrons of the diner duly renewed their interests in their meals, and gradually the level of conversation increased as the sight of the town's resident malevolent misanthropist lost its novelty value. Whilst Mr Gold read the menu, Isobel took the opportunity to observe him through fresh eyes. His face, though careworn and not conventionally attractive, still made her melt with his expressiveness. His eyes were a deep brown she could drown in. Isobel cleared her throat. "I hear the hamburgers are excellent" she announced. Gold laughed. Their first date at Granny's diner had involved hamburgers. Gold had spilled ketchup and mayonnaise down his shirt; he'd been so nervous around her. His facade of extreme control and sophistication gone in a second. In happy tribute to that memory, they ordered burgers when Ruby finally came over, muttering curses at Gold under her breath. Gold took a fresh look at Ruby through Rumplestiltskin's eyes. He wondered how he could have missed it. The lycanthropy stood out like a sore thumb. Is everyone around here blind, he thought. Somewhat uncharitably failing to remember that for the last 28 years he had failed to notice people's true nature and his own as well.