"Now I have to pay the price…"
Belle fades away and disappears entirely leaving nothing but the lily flower cradled in his hand where her heart should have been.
Rumple's eyes whipped open. They weren't home. They were still on their honeymoon at the cabin. He turned over to look at Belle's side of the bed and discovered that she wasn't there. He got up from bed and peered out their bedroom window. A thick fog had settled over the cabin, blanketing out the morning sun. He skulked around the cabin and began looking for Belle. Did she even come to bed last night? He wondered. Their argument last night did get a bit heated.
He walked down the hall and turned to his right to look into the kitchen. She wasn't there, but evidence of her presence still lingered. The teapot kettle still had steam escaping from its' spout and a box of teabags were left out. The kitchen was open and shared its space with the living room area. He looked over to the left and saw the fireplace still going. The fire had simmered down to its coals indicating that she was probably sitting in front of it all night reading, as evident by the pile of books that were strewn on top of a comforter.
He approached the window at the front of the cabin and scanned the porch. Through the glass he saw Belle sitting in one of the chair rocker's with a book in her lap. Although the book was open, she wasn't actually looking at it. She was staring pensively into the woods, possibly thinking about the content she was currently reading. After a few moments passed, she looked back down into her book and resumed reading again. She was safe and occupied; that was all that mattered. He was able to relax again. His heart quickly slowed from its panicked pace.
"I know about the dagger…" echoed the residual voice of Belle in his mind. His vision was telling him something. Does she know?
There was only one way to find out. He needed to know whether or not his dream was valid. He turned away from the window and scanned the room looking for her purse. It was the last place he remembered putting the fake dagger when he insisted on giving it back to her. If she didn't know about the switching of the blades, then it would still exist in her purse. But if she knew about the dagger's twin…
Belle's purse sat on the kitchen counter next to the fridge. He strode quickly over to it and immediately began sifting through the contents of her purse, but there was no blade.
"It's not there," she said to him. Hearing her voice startled him, but he immediately recovered trying not to look so guilty. Rumple was so focused on his search that he didn't realize Belle was watching him the entire time.
"What's not there?" he said feigning ignorance.
"…You know, the one item that is supposed to symbolize our trust in one another," she said leaning against the open door's frame with arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. Her voice was unemotional and somber.
"Where is it?" he asked with concern.
"When I got kidnapped by Elsa I tried to call you on my cell phone, but the weather she was causing was interfering with the signal so I couldn't reach you. Fortunately, I had my purse with me and in it the dagger, so I thought to summon you for help. When Elsa caught me with the dagger she assumed I was going to threaten her with it, so she magically froze the dagger in my hands and caused me to drop it. When it fell it shattered. When the dagger broke I thought she had killed you, but deep down I should have known that something as simple as ice couldn't destroy your dagger like that. So when I saw you come for me, it told me all I needed to know."
Belle sighed, "So, now you're wondering, am I angry?" she said moving closer to him by the kitchen counter. She shook her head, "I should be angry… but I'm not… I can't be angry because that's not what I feel. What I really feel…," looking into his eyes, "…is disappointment. So please don't confuse what I say for anger because despite all of this… I still love you. I love you very much." She looked down for a moment then looked back up at him with saddened eyes, "So what reason, in all the realms, have I given you to still not trust me?"
After hearing Belle's words Rumple was suddenly filled with shame and embarrassment. She had caught him and he was left flabbergasted. "I… I do trust you sweetheart," he stuttered fumbling with his words, "It's everyone else I don't trust. I didn't want to be manipulated again like I was with Zelena and I knew that everyone knew Regina gave you my dagger. I thought that in order to truly hide it, I'd give you the fake. That way everyone continued believing you had it, including yourself."
Belle disapprovingly shook her head, "But Rumple, I'm not everyone else… I'm your wife. What if another 'Elsa' had come along and wanted to hurt me to get to you and I couldn't defend myself? Before we got married I even offered to help hide it again. But you insisted that I keep it and you tossed that fake dagger toward me. What you didn't know is that you were essentially tossing me into danger without any way to protect myself. You left me vulnerable to anyone who'd attempt to call you out on your bluff. If I had the real one I could have, at least, summoned you for help, but with the fake one you put me in harms-way to anyone with magic. Everyone knows I have the dagger in my possession… this is not an unknown fact… So you put me in an awkward position… and trapped me in a lie with no way out."
She shuffled her feet and fidgeted anxiously. Her emotions were bubbling to the surface and she could feel the heat rise to her cheeks forming a blush. She looked down at her wedding band and started moving the ring around on her finger, "I told you… on our wedding night… that you were worthy of me, but apparently you don't think I'm not worthy of you, or your trust." Her bottom lip trembled and her eyes began to water, "Rumple, I don't deserve this. Not only is it not fair… it's not right. I think for as long as we've known each other and for what we've been through together, I deserve a little more credit than that."
Knots were twisting in both of their stomachs, but for different reasons. They had come to an impasse. He had no words to say to her and she was waiting for the reason he didn't trust her, so they both said nothing. Belle was finding the large cabin and the silence they were sharing just a bit too much and she began to feel a bit claustrophobic. "I don't feel good," she stated to him breaking the silence once more, "I'm going to uh, go… step back outside and… maybe get some fresh air for a while."
She left Gold standing in the kitchen dumbfounded. She walked out to the porch again and sat back down on the rocker. She lifted the book that saved her place and pretended to read its' content, but she was far too consumed in the thoughts that swirled in her mind. Belle was disgusted, but mostly mournful. She mourned over the idea that her husband still didn't trust her, and the thought left her unsure where their relationship stood now. She stared at the words in her book, but as the tears from her face splattered along the pages she was finding it difficult to concentrate; each drop was a reminder of why she was upset to begin with.
Rumple left the kitchen to greet his wife, but her back was to him. He stared at the back of her head and reflected. He knew he needed to do something. He couldn't just stand there. The conscience he had ignored for centuries out of habit was telling him something; what he should have done from the beginning. And it was in that moment he finally gave in and listened to it. He immediately knew just what to do. He approached Belle hesitantly and murmured to her delicately, "I'll be gone for a few moments…"
His fingers began to fidget, he wanted to reach out to her but wasn't sure how she would react to his touch. "I promise I'll be back in five minutes." She nodded, acknowledging him, but remained silent.
The one-sided argument was heated, but she remained steadfast in her convictions. She wasn't going to leave him like he had commanded of her all those years ago. Not only did he regret their separation for all those years, but so did she. Belle figured he just needed his space to think, because the truth was, she needed space to think too. So at least, in that aspect, she could respect the courtesy he displayed to her by letting her know of his departure even if it was only five minutes.
Rumple was true to his word and came back to her five minutes later. She heard his footsteps coming closer. When he got within her peripheral vision she turned to look at him. Not only did he return to her so quickly, but he returned holding the real dagger. He humbled himself and approached Belle getting down on one knee, holding the dagger up to her. Rumple felt it appropriate and wanted to see her eye to eye without her having to move to meet his. The real blade rested flat in his open hands like a peace offering. He presented The Dark One Dagger allowing her, and only her, to access its' power.
"My darling Belle, I am so… so sorry. The last thing I ever wanted to do was put you in danger… and, you're right. You were right about everything. I still have issues trusting." Belle briefly looked at the blade in his hands, but was more interested in the words her husband was saying to her. When he saw that she didn't respond right away he replied, "It pains me knowing you're disappointment in me. And sweetheart… I am trying so very, very hard to be the man you want me to be." She stared into his pleading eyes. His face begged for her to forgive him.
"I am still learning how to trust and in my past… well, trusting others has proven to me time and again to be detrimental. So please forgive me and my nasty habit of self-preservation because for the longest time the only person I could trust was myself. Trusting is not easy for me. It never had been, until I met you. And it wasn't until I met you that I had just started learning how." He took in a nervous breath, "I'm not perfect and that's because beneath this monster I am still this incredibly flawed man."
He appeared to be fumbling with his next words, but he never broke his focus on her. "Please know, that I would give my life for you if it meant protecting you…"
"I know you would," Belle responded, tears forming in her eyes, "you already have." Thinking back to when he sacrificed his life to destroy Pan. Belle glanced at the dagger he was offering and wondered about the blade's dangerous history. How much blood did it shed? How many deaths did this Dark Curse cause? How much was it his decision? How much was it the curse? It made her wonder about the danger it presented and the future danger this weapon still had in store for them. The thought was foreboding and it made her hesitant to even touch the weapon.
"You are my better half. You are my partner. You are my true love and… you are my wife. And since you are all of these things the only appropriate solution is to find a better hiding spot for this…" he said rocking the blade that was cradled in his hands, "…together."
Rumple moved the dagger closer to Belle, "Please, take it," he encouraged. Belle braved the temptation and touched the dagger hesitantly.
"But," asked a confused Belle, unsure of his intentions this time, "I wouldn't know what to do with it? All I had wanted to do before was just summon you."
"Then, for both our sakes, let's hope that's all you'll ever need to know."
Belle lifted the blade gently off from Rumple's outstretched hands.
"How will I know it works?" she asked. The dagger felt deceptively heavy. It felt as if she was carrying around all the souls from all the people that died from this very blade. The metal even seemed to give out a small vibration, as if the enchanted weapon was recognizing its new master. The eerie sensation caused her break her trance. She looked up hoping to seek his face for assurance, but he had disappeared! His sudden disappearance surprised her. She looked around and then back down at the dagger in her hands. He was giving her consent to test the blade and summon him. So she stood up. Not that she had any magical experience, but she figured that anyone who possessed the dagger had it with confidence and felt it appropriate to take on this new authority with two feet planted to the ground. With timid breath, she studied the grooves with her fingers tracing slowly along each letter of his name. Rumplestiltskin.
Whenever it came to magic, Belle always felt insufficient and just plain silly. Like when she had to perform the spell to protect the town from unwelcomed visitors to Storybrooke, or when she had to figure out the sand dollar he gave her. However, they were the only two people in the woods at the cabin. They were safe. And she felt it okay to be silly in front of the person she loved. So she muscled up the courage and stated calmly and softly into the blade like it was an actual person, "Rumplestiltskin, I summon thee."
"I think, my dear, you're gonna have to say my name just a wee bit louder if I'm to hear you from across the realms, or, at least from this porch."
Rumple appeared from out of thin air and at the opposite end of the porch from Belle. Belle smiled at Rumple and gestured with the dagger for him to come closer to her. Rumple, compelled by the Dark Curse's magic, mirrored the motion of the dagger and smirked as he gladly got closer to Belle. Belle deliberately placed the dagger on the porch banister next to him. She wanted to immediately relinquish the power back to him and hoped that by doing so, she was giving him reason to trust her.
"Well," replied Belle getting intimately close, wrapping her arms lovingly around him, "let's just hope that the price to magically summon you is the price of a kiss." She looked up into his eyes, forgetting about the dagger's presence along with the rest of the world. He was her sole focus and nothing else.
"That dear, is a price I'll gladly pay for eternity." Rumple bent down and his lips met hers. Time seemed to slow but they didn't care. They continued kissing passionately, almost forgetting to come up for air. Even with eyes closed their lips pressed on, cementing their love again and again.
Hi guys. Watched Disney's Beauty and the Beast for the first time with my niece yesterday. It was priceless. Brought back great memories. Felt it appropriate to share this moment with you all given that the topic of my story is, well… about BatB. It was also my excuse for not posting yesterday, so there.
Oh, and btw, this chapter is truly significant to me because it became the platform to my whole story. This particular chapter was, at first, a short story. But then I wanted to explain how and why our favorite characters reacted the way they did to lead up to the discovery of the fake dagger. There needed to be more to the story and to explain why. So I started with this chapter and then I went backwards in explaining how the characters got to this point, all the way to their wedding vows. Weird I know. Everything after this chapter was an afterthought after I started actually writing the story at the beginning of July (and if you just understood that last sentence, you're a genius). What I didn't realize was that it would take me this long to tell it. Oi.
Special thanks to Montreat11, Grace5231973, BreathingintheSun and NatalieMosherRumbelle for all your beautiful words and assistance. I'm just constantly trying to push through this story, trying to beat my rapid publishing and trying to not look back. Getting all these complex ideas and intricate thoughts out by a deadline… not gonna lie… kind of sucks. I've never pushed/disciplined myself this much in creative writing before, so I hope you guys at least catch what I'm throwing at ya. When the story is complete, I do intend on personally going through it again and editing it with a clearer head and fresher eyes. And then maybe… just maybe… adding on some addendum "fluff" chapters. Who knows? Time will tell on that one. Thanks for reading. Thanks for reviewing. See you next chapter.