A Tale of Time

Written by: Adventure-Seeking-Juliet

When: Listening to Sea Wolf

Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or anything else of that nature.

A/N Much thanks to my wonderful reviewers! I hope you continue to enjoy this story...and I hope you continue to review as frequently as you have been.

Part Three~ Sable

Belle waited for Rumpelstiltskin to return with her food for what felt like hours.

There wasn't much to do in the empty room as she waited...she wasn't strong enough to move around, and there was nothing at all interesting about the wooden walls of the room.

There was a small stack of books next to the trunk, but in her weakened state, Belle knew it would be hopeless to try to reach them herself. So, she had planned to ask Rumpelstiltskin if he could move them closer to her when he returned...but his returning was taking a lot more time than she had expected.

And Belle wasn't as patient as she liked for people to believe.

She pushed herself up further against the pillows, craning her neck to get a good look at the stack of books. There were four piled on top of the trunk- all of them so old and worn that the covers were either missing or illegible.

Belle struggled forward, gasping when her arms shook underneath her weight. She folded the covers back, and leaned forward just far enough to reach the book at the top of the stack.

Just as she grabbed the first book, a deep cough shuddered through her, making her body shake.

The cough turned into a string of coughs, and when she drew her arms back to her sides, she sent the entire stack of books tumbling to the floor.

She winced at the loud sound, knowing Rumpelstiltskin would hear the ruckus and be disturbed from whatever he was doing...

As if on cue, he came running through the door, worry lining his face," Belle? What happened? Are you okay?"

He ran to her side, and helped her lie back in the bed, even as another set of coughs racked her body.

She nodded, unable to speak.

"What were you doing? Surely you know you're not yet strong enough to try to get of bed!"

Belle smiled at his cross-sounding words, it reminded her more of the Rumpelstiltskin she had known at the Dark Castle- even when he was trying to show that he cared, he had sounded cross.

"I was trying to reach for the books," Belle explained, fighting back the coughs. Her voice was still very weak, but he heard her.

"The books?" Rumpel turned back to the fallen stack of books," All you had to do was call for me and I would have brought them to you, Belle."

"I was going to wait for you to come back with the food before I asked, but-"

"Oh no," He collapsed onto the bed, next to her," I completely forgot about your food! I'm so sorry, Sable came to visit and I was distracted, I'll go and fetch it right now-"

He jumped from the bed, but Belle caught his wrist," What is Sable?"

Rumpelstiltskin was silent for a moment, staring at Belle's hand on his wrist. Belle followed his gaze, and quickly released him, trying to ignore the tingling in her fingers.

He shook himself," Uh- Sable. Yes, she's my fiancee. Have the two of you not been introduced?"

Belle's heart plummeted in her chest," No. We haven't."

"Well then, I'll be back in just a minute, and I'll introduce you."

Belle was left staring after his retreating form, wishing he had at least handed her the book she wanted.

Instead, Rumpelstiltskin busted into the room a few minutes later with a tray of food on one arm, and a lady on the other.

He set her meal down in front of her- a steaming bowl of soup and a chunk of bread.

"I'm sorry I couldn't give you more, but I'm running low on supplies." He apologized, looking forlorn.

Belle ignored Sable and smiled at him," It's no problem, I understand. It smells wonderful."

"It is...Sable made it, actually. I'm not much of a cook." He gestured toward the woman on his right.

Sable couldn't have been any more different from Belle.

She was tall, so much so, that in her heels, she was a few inches taller than Rumpelstiltskin himself. Belle knew that if she would have been standing, Sable would have dwarfed her.

So, she sat up taller in bed, trying to appear as regal as she possibly could.

Whereas Belle's hair was a soft brown and her eyes a light blue, Sable had striking black hair and eyes the color of ink, reminding Belle of the Evil Queen.

"Hello, Belle. I've heard much about you," Sable inclined her head, smiling sweetly.

Belle tried to swallow her jealousy," I wish I could say the same of you, Sable. Thank you so much for everything...this food is simply delicious."

She flashed Rumpelstiltskin an annoyed look. Was it so hard for him to tell her he was engaged?

Sensing the tension in the room, Rumpelstiltskin nodded toward the door," I think it's best if we leave Belle to rest."

Sable waited until he had turned away before smirking at Belle," Yes. She must be very tired from her long journey."

With one last glare, Sable turned to leave, gently touching Rumpelstiltskin's back as they exited.

They shut the door, leaving Belle to stare at the bowl of stew on her lap in annoyance.

She wasn't hungry any more.

A/N I hope you enjoyed this chapter! There will be more explained about Sable in the following chapter. Review?