Black, jagged claws of despair gripped Belle's stalwart soul and pierced her spirit as she put the water on for the Dark One's morning tea. Heaviness heaved her barren heart like a boulder sunk in the center of her body. A sad frown traced her normally smiling mouth as she scuttled about moving a few things and gathering the small pots that cluttered about the silver tray.
Cold draft whipped against her skin in icy fangs as she lumbered along with her tasks. Tendrils of her silky chestnut mane fanned about her porcelain skin in a curtain of unkemptness. Her shoulders sagged with the imminent stone yoke of defeat as her body moved along like a puppet jerked about by cords of sorrow.
Already their routines had fallen in the same laborious trek amidst the stone walls of the ominous keep. She served the Dark One first long before Cora awoke then served the witch whilst she rambled off a list of chores to break her back and make her fingers bleed upon. The last few days seemed a glassy dream, broken by the harsh fist of reality into a thousand twinkling splinters. All she held left were the shards of what once was, that dug into her hands and spilled her blood upon her heart.
Rumpelstiltskin was bound to care for his child and she was bound to be slave again to a mistress who enjoyed to be cruel to her. There was no justice to the world.
A sad sigh tumbled from her frowning mouth as she delicately placed the same blue and white porcelain kettle on the silver tray. At least some things seemed to never change. Tea was always something they could cherish.
Scanning the kitchen once more to make certain nothing had been omitted from their normal mornings; the beauty heaved up the tray and glided through the large open doors.
Chills that raced down the black corridors bit ruthlessly into her skin, but she welcomed the cold. Steam billowed from the spout and against her face like a warm hand gliding across her skin.
As she traversed the maze of black halls, Belle felt her pain ease. Even in routine there was some minuscule comforts left in life. Some things could not be so easily banished from their hearts.
At least they had this, a melancholic smile twitched faintly upon her lips with the pleasant soothing thought. At least they had a few moments in the morning without the shade of Cora adumbrating all their lives. They would find time in the cracks of the day to share their love and whisper the secrets deepest in their hearts to one another.
Love would always find away, the beauty believed without a hint of doubt. The rose of their love couldn't be wilted by the frigid shadows that shrouded their ardor. Love was stronger than that.
Buoyed by the cooling balm that lay over her pain, the enslaved beauty breathed deep. Her lungs burned as the cold air raced through her, thrilling her body. A small smile pricked her lips. Nothing was going to stop all their happiness.
Pushing open the final door of her venture, her smile immediately fell.
"I thought I'd join you this morning, Rumpel." Cora revealed in a taunting smile as she stood beside the dim fire place.
A fine pale cream colored dress of watery silk garbed her sensuous body. The collar of her dress dipped down into a modest V that exposed her swan-like neck. Her silky black hair was pinned up and pearls entwined into her sable locks. A silver necklace set with an opal hung to the V neck of her gown and a ruby ring she had taken to wearing donned her left hand.
She was the figure of beauty to behold even in her wickedness. Alluring she was but fangs hid behind her loveliness to sink into her prey. Malice danced in the shadows of her eyes making her beauty seem a terrible and wretched thing.
Rumpelstiltskin growled dangerously at the woman who stole his happiness. Sitting in his normal chair, the fiend eyed the witch hatefully. Utter loathing danced like streaks of fire in his sable dots. At that moment nothing was more hated than she who had wrenched his happiness from his hands.
Drawn by the creaking hinges of the door opening, the witch darted her cunning almond eyes away from the snarling fiend. An acidic smile drew to her glossy red lips. "There you are slave. I was wondering when you would be back with tea." Folding her hands in her lap she sank politely into her chair on the other end of the table.
Renewed despair wailed relentlessly against the beauty's heart. What she wouldn't have given for her body to sink into the stone and become a shadow to dance upon the coarse walls. Why did she have to be there, Belle wished to scream to the rafters in sorrowed rage. Why did she have to ruin even a few moments of happiness?
"I apologize for my tardiness mistress." Belle padded forward carefully with her burden of tea tray. Ornate spoons and cutlery clinked as she lightly set the silver tray in the center of the table.
Turning to her work, the girl prepared tea for two without a hint of complaint. Now was not the time to bite back and perhaps have her punished. Rumpelstiltskin's deal nullified punishments but that didn't mean her ever sadistic mistress couldn't come up with a mile long list of chores.
The witch flicked her spell worn hand flippantly. "I don't care about your apologies, slave. Just serve."
"Why did you come down, Cora?" The Dark One piped up, his voice brimming with abject loathing. Anything to divert attention from Belle was a grateful welcome. Huffing he leaned casually in his chair, his muscles tense as bow strings. "I thought you'd be in the throes of some morning sickness."
"There is magic to stave off such." The witch retorted promptly with the twitch of a smile. Of course she wasn't blind to the Dark One subtle burrowing to catch her in some lie or find out she wasn't with child. Still, there were pretenses to upkeep.
A dark, disapproving frown etched his gray-gold visage. "I don't want you using such magic when it concerns our child." The fiend spat firmly. "Who knows what prices magic has on the unborn."
For a tense moment, the woman looked to argue the matter. Why did he try to be so utterly noble? Opening her mouth, she shut it once again, her smile returning. "I'll concede to that, Rumpel." She nodded neatly. "No more magic when it comes to the child from here on out."
"Thank you." Dubiousness lingered upon his flat tone. His eyes narrowed suspiciously to the witch. Cora was never so accommodating. Part of him feared she would try something to hurt his heart against his child.
Taking a careful sip of her tea, the witch turned her eyes back upon the bowed beauty. Pain marred her lovely features, awash in the throes of distress. She must have hated hearing them talk such about the 'child'. Perhaps she wished the one who held the bundle was she.
Sniffing imperiously, the witch motioned to the door. "Be gone slave, these matters don't concern you. I wish to speak to the Dark One alone."
Belle gave a silent nod to the command. Arguing was futile to the woman who thought her no more than an animal to be worked. Sparing the Dark One an errant glance, the woman slipped away leaving the two alone.
"I don't have much to say to you, Cora." The fiend turned his eyes away to the last embers of the night's flames in the gaping stone hearth and sighed. Pressing his fingertips into a pyramid, the Dark One placed his black nails under his chin. His voice murmured in thoughtful regret and desire. "I only wish to see the babe hale and healthy. That is all that concerns me."
"All?" Low laughter tittered from her slyly smiling mouth. She canted her head mockingly to the left. "Is that really all you're concerned about? Not your love or anything else that provides such flagrant vulnerability to the depths of your heart?"
Darkness rumbled from his throat, his mouth twisted into a hated sneer. "I'm not concerned about your magic anymore or your twisted schemes for misery to wrack these lands. I had happiness and I know I would never allow any to feel the misery I feel now." Thin, wiry claws encircled the edge of the chipped cup involuntarily.
"Touching." Drawled Cora in boredom. She yawned politely behind her hand. "But do you really think you can stop it? We've already gathered the Wild Magic all that is left to reap is the fairies vaunted power and to cast the curse." Clucking her tongue she smiled infuriating patronizingly. "Do you really want to throw that away because of some slave girl?"
"More than anything." He shot, his lips barely pried apart. Fury glittered diamonds in his marble eyes. What once had been lust was sheer hatred for her. Anger flared under his gray-gold skin. Cora had a way of making him want to fly into a rage.
"For shame, Rumpel. You always tried to drive into me the importance of seeing your plans through. Too bad." Cora chuckled pleasantly before taking up her tea cup once more. "You see I grow tired of this toying with you, Rumpel. You know how much I want my plans to come to fruition." Cora stated tersely, her voice scolding as though unhappy with an unruly brat.
Satisfaction traced his lips. "I'm afraid that's just not going to happen, Dearie." If he could not be happy then by all the magic in the world she would not be given the same right!
"Are you so certain?" Cunning convincing slyness oozed in her innocent tone. Perching a brow she checked her gaze from fiend to slave. "I told you Rumpel, I grow tired of all these games and nothing matters to me more than my magic. I will put this simply to spare us both the rest of this trivial game. Perform your part of the magic or I kill her."
A shiver of absolute power coursed through her veins as the words parted from her mouth. There, that would cut out all their little games and stubbornness. How could he let his love be slain?
Shock braked the fiend's heart in its saddened rhythm. Clouds of disbelief darkened his face into a blank look. "Have you gone mad?" He whispered, his talons clutching the armrests. "First you want to keep her as a slave now you wish to kill her!"
Was Cora mad, he contemplated for a brief moment. Certainly she seemed so. She changed her mind more than a noble woman did fashion styles.
"The problem is, Rumpel dear we see the slave two different ways." Cora explained primly to the fiend, her lips pursed shrewdly. "You see your love. I see a thing that can be used. Extorted. If she cannot succeed in letting me get you to enact my plans then she is of no use to me."
His wiry claws dug into the wood of the chair, scoring deep indention's to the furniture. Pernicious rage danced wildly in his beastly orbs. "You can't do that." The words came out fiercely desperate.
Cold laughter barked from her lips in a flippant chuckle of malicious amusement. "I can do what I want. Her life is mine. She is mine." Folding her hands in her lap, she glared at the Dark One. All humor melted away from her features leaving the wickedness sluiced about her pallid skin in plain detail. "Chose to play your part or I squeeze and squeeze until she dies…."
~8~8~
A light tune normally hummed softly from Belle grinning mouth, but not today. Somberness threaded dread to her heart and wove despair into her soul. Never again did she think she would be able to find any measure of gladness within the bleak walls of Cora's dark citadel. Sorrow guarded her heart, letting no slip of happiness break through a chink in her melancholy.
Blackness clouded her soul and brought no light to the bloom of love that blossomed inside. All the world seemed gray and lost and every beat of time a misery to be endured for minutes more.
In the blink of an eye Cora displayed how she could ruin a moment. In fact the only real moment they had. Having duties she wouldn't have much time with Rumpel, but the hag even sought to annihilate those precious alcoves of ardor.
Would she ever have happiness again, the beauty pondered lugubriously. What had she done so terrible in the past to deserve such a tortuous fate? Who above has she displeased to be tossed such a horrendous future?
Dipping her hands in the wooden tub of dishwater, the beauty tried to banish the thoughts that clawed at her brain. Those were not things she should dwell upon no matter how easy they were to ruminate on in the midst of her chores. Focusing on what she had lost would avail her little, but how could she not when she had truly lost everything?
Hot soapy waters sloshed over her bare, slender arms as she plunged her extremities elbow deep into the sink. Pearly grayish suds sloshed over the rim and unto the floor she would still have to clean as she bent to her task. Dirty morning dishes flecked with scraps, silver cutlery, and tea cups, sat next to the great wooden tub awaiting to be cleaned before she tended her next chore.
Normally work aided in helping her forget her strife, but not this pain that pounded with every leap of her heart. Her love was too strong to have any attention diverted from her pining. Her heart was cracked into fine shards and no balm or tincture could connect the pieces again. Only Rumpel could mend that mortal gap and he was-
"He's going to enact the magic." Cora hummed delightedly as she appeared in the kitchens.
In an instant the smell of strong ammonia wafted through the drafty climes of the larder. Disgusting power pressed from all sides as though oozing from the walls in black, slimy thickness.
Evil roiled bout the devious witches small, sensual body as she appeared in the larder where the girl toiled. Victory etched her lips in a wicked glossy scarlet grin as she preened. "Your love is a lost cause. He will bring forth misery."
"You're lying." Belle rebuffed, her heart twisting. Not turning to look at the witch, the beauty scrubbed at the plates cluttering the sink.
Inside, her heart shivered at the declaration. Rumpel had decided to go along with the scheme? Why would she say such words if they weren't the truth? Cora was conniving and a liar but she wouldn't lie about something so easily discovered. One chat with her love and she would know the truth so why lie about such a matter easily discovered if fact or fiction?
She perched a slim brow. "I am?" Her tone displayed not a hint of anger. Normally for Belle speaking in such a manner she would have sent arches of pain into her form, but not now. A sly, eerily calm smile curved Cora's mouth. "Ask him yourself." She chuckled and proffered a dainty hand to the doors. Her lips twisted into a vile smirk. "He's at his wheel right now trying to come up with a plan."
Taking one scathing, half curious look at the grinning witch, the beauty tossed her rag back into the steaming, soapy water. Wiping her hand on a dry brown towel she forced her features to remain stilled and calm. With all dignity she walked past the witch and to the man she hoped had not sold his magic's to her already.
Outside the kitchens, the beauty felt the sharp edged fears nibble the noble fringes of her confidence. Claws of worry twisted her heart like a wet rag. Would he have cracked so easily after one day? He had been surprisingly gentle with Cora concerning the child earlier. Had he crumbled to her wishes?
Sternly, the beauty tossed the thoughts away. No, he would not do something like that, Not when their love hung in the balance. She was worrying for nothing at all. This was merely another cruelty from Cora to spear at her heart.
Forcing herself to believe the words, a small smile tipped one side of her lips. Cora couldn't be right. She just couldn't.
Slowly prying open a door to the main hall, the beauty at once espied the fiend. The hinges upon the door were silent allowing for a circumspect entry into the place where the fiend spun.
Rumpelstiltskin stood near his wheel, but not upon the stool in front of his spinner's tool in his usual manner. Wiry arms crossed, the Dark One surveyed a scene playing out before him.
Magic in the shape of peoples and places danced before him like a puppets show. Tiny creatures with wings forged of his purple mist darted about and then fell to the ground in heaps. Another figure that looked like himself swooped down upon the figures and stole something in a bag next to the largest of the winged kind.
Watching the actions with a critical eyes, the fiend waved his hand laconically in front of the images. Immediately the forms disintegrated into themselves as nothing but purple smoke that swirled about him.
"Cora sent you, didn't she?" The fiend asked through tight lips, his words soft. Not looking her way the magical monster stared at the wooden spokes of the wheels.
Only Cora would be so cruel, he knew. She couldn't simply let Belle remain ignorant until the time came. Oh no she had to place another brand upon her heart and evoke more pains.
Dread pooled in icy sheets in Belle's stomach to witness such a thing. He was planning, she knew, he was going to do something.
Slipping inside, the beauty padded closer to the fiend." You're planning on doing it." She accused softly to his side. "You will go through with her plans."
"I'm sorry Belle." Rumpelstiltskin stated stoically as he hid a flinch. Her words were like knives cutting into his heart and laying waste to all they could slice. She upheld him not to enact the magic as a show of love and he had tossed that trust into the flames.
Magic bristled like fronds of frost upon the cool draft as a puff of lingering amethyst power snaked about him. Swirls of fog drifted over his skin and tendrils of his straggly brown hair in a noxious sickly sweet mist. Standing tall, the fiend looked akin to a stoic statue. Sternness and rigid neutrality sprawl across his normally animated visage. Nothingness danced in his eyes, carefully hiding what emotions roiled beneath. He had to be cold know more that any other time in his life. "I'm going along with Cora's plan." He admitted simply.
Pain caught in Belle's lungs. How could he do that? "Why, Rumpel?" Pleading crumbled her voice to tears.
"It's the best choice." The fiend replied, his own emotion cracking through the facade of his neutrality. His heart ached with an all too real pain showering acid upon his soul. But he couldn't let her perish at the hands of Cora. Even if she refused to love him, he would not watch her die. "I understand if you hate me for it."
Hate him? Absurdity mellowed the agony streaking across her cracked heart. She could do many thing but hating him was not one. "You know what has to happen now, but I can't hate you." She claimed softly through her abject sorrow. Never that.
"Please." The words seethed wretchedly from his pencil thin mouth. His entire body trembled as though his heart was about to burst. He was about to lost everything. "Please hate me." He rasped hoarsely.
At least with hate perhaps his heart might would grow callous again to stave off some of the tortuous pain. Hate would buffer the blow of knowing he let her down. Hate would dull the edges of the sharp knife of his betrayal he stabbed in her heart.
Stubbornly the beauty tossed her chestnut head. "I could never." Emotions rang free in her voice. She didn't know what had changed his mind, but something wasn't right. He certainly didn't seem to want to evoke the misery curse. Taking a step forward, she tried to find his eyes. "What's happening Rumpel?"
"Leave me here, Belle." He gulped down his agony. "Leave me to my pain."
How could he tell her what her mistress concocted in her mad mind? Would she still be adamant to not cast the curse? Of course she would, he knew, Belle was brave and noble and would sacrifice her self for all the realms. That, however, was something he would not contend for.
Forcing his attention away from her, the Dark One erected a new image with magic. Focusing solely on the peoples forged of power, the fiend held the chunks of his bleeding heart in his hands as he planned a course of action.
Tears dripped from the enslaved beauty's azure jewels with the exclamation. Why he was doing it she didn't know, but whatever the reason he was not to be changing his mind. Talking to him would reward her nothing but more heart ache.
Defeated, truly defeated the beauty turned away, content to wallow in her own misery as well.
Ears strained, the fiend listened to every step the beauty took. A frown graced his gray-gold face wrought with torment. Oh indeed he planned on some actions, some recourse, but he couldn't tell her just what. He couldn't risk any other finding out what he had in mind, even if it was his love.