A/N: First of all, THANK YOU for all the reviews and support! We truly appreciate your feedback. Just knowing that you are out there and enjoying this story provides a world of inspiration!
Disclaimer: We do not own Once Upon a Time. May credit be given where credit is due.
~Chapter V~
Vines of multi-colored flowers wrapped around the huge trunks, their vibrant reds and oranges blazing like flames in the afternoon sunlight. Chains of mushrooms emitted a soft cerulean glow amongst the knobby roots strewn about the forest floor. In the distance, tiny yellow will-o'-the-wisps danced about in the dark shade cast by the tree canopy.
A soft gasp behind Rumplestiltskin told him that Belle had arrived. She walked forward to stand beside him, her mouth agape as she took in their surroundings. Although no wind blew, the willow's leaves seemed to whisper together, as though excited at the new arrival.
For a moment they simply stood there, simultaneously mesmerized and intimidated by this new environment. Clearing his throat slightly, Rumplestiltskin offered Belle his arm. "Shall we?"
She looped her arm through the crook of his elbow, smiling softly as they took their first steps into the Neverland Forest.
They walked for several hours, helping each other over the moss-covered boulders and logs which occasionally obstructed their path. Some of the flowers turned their petal-crowned heads curiously as the couple passed. Every now and then a vine would linger just a little longer than natural on their shoulders. Even the tiny, colorful finches they startled in their path did not fly very far, their curiosity keeping them only a branch out of reach.
With every steep hill the couple climbed and treacherous ledge they rounded, Rumplestiltskin felt evermore grateful that he had healed his lame knee before traveling to Neverland. Had he neglected to do so, he would have been too focused on maintaining his own balance to help Belle maintain hers.
She was terribly clumsy, though not from a lack of grace; rather, she could not seem to tear her bright eyes from the towering treetops or the multi-colored birds which flitted between them, and so fell at the complete mercy of the stones and raised roots which peppered their path.
Rumplestiltskin could not hold back a chuckle as she tripped once more over another obstacle, gripping his arm to keep herself upright. She glanced up at him sheepishly, a light blush painting her cheeks.
They continued walking; Belle seemed to redouble her efforts to tread without tripping, her hold on Rumplestiltskin's arm now more out of affection than necessity.
"Rum?"
He turned his head toward her in acknowledgement, smirking when she did not notice because her eyes were glued to the forest path. "Yes?"
"Wh-what deal did you make with the Blue Fairy?" She asked, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.
Rumplestiltskin inhaled slowly. Belle deserved honesty. She deserved to know that magic was still on his mind, even if it turned her away from him.
"She permitted me to bring the little magic I managed to harness here."
You coward, he silently berated himself. Belle looked up at him, her brow furrowed slightly.
"In return for...?" Belle prompted, her eyes scanning his face.
"Restraint, frugality. It is the only magic available to me here; it cannot be replenished." He explained nonchalantly, his eyes tracing over the scenery.
Bloody stupid coward.
"I see," Belle murmured, her eyes still focused on his features, and Rumplestiltskin found he could not quite meet her piercing gaze.
He was saved from further explanation when they reached a break in the trees. Squinting slightly in the bright orange rays of the setting sun, they emerged from the forest into a vast meadow. Bushes of wildflowers and cattails swayed gaily in a breeze that Rumplestiltskin and Belle did not feel.
"It's so...open." Belle breathed with an amazement and relief that made Rumplestiltskin wonder just how much she remembered of her captivity in Storybrooke's psych ward.
"How about we stay here for the night? It's nearly dusk," Rumplestiltskin suggested, setting down his own rucksack and helping Belle remove hers. Belle nodded, her wide eyes still taking in their surroundings.
Rumplestiltskin began clearing a small area of vegetation to build a fire. Belle, finally dragging her gaze away from the breathtaking scenery, started collecting twigs and sticks for kindling.
The sun had just set by the time they had a strong fire burning in the makeshift pit. Belle was packing the box of matches back into her rucksack when a soft "oh!" of surprise left her lips. A moment later she held up a thin pocketknife, throwing Rumplestiltskin a puzzled look.
"I would rather not leave you unarmed, should we become separated," Rumplestiltskin explained matter-of-factly, adding more kindling to the fire.
"I see," Belle murmured, carefully pulling the blade from its sheath. Rumplestiltskin watched, smirking slightly, as she held the weapon in her palm, testing its weight. She curled her fingers about the hilt, brow furrowing as she tried to imagine using it. She tentatively swiped at the empty air before her.
"If you wield it like that, you'll be defeated in seconds," Rumplestiltskin chuckled, leaning back to better survey her. Belle scowled, biting back a smile.
"Well then, oh mighty Dark One, would you care to demonstrate?" She asked cheekily, her voice shaking slightly with restrained laughter.
Rumplestiltskin raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. "You mean, the royal tutors did not teach you how to properly brandish a weapon?"
"Heavens, no! Not when there were such important subjects like embroidery and table etiquette to learn," Belle responded in an insincerely scandalized tone.
"Well, I suppose it is better late than never," Rumplestiltskin relented, chuckling as he rose to his feet and approached Belle.
"Show me how you would hold the knife when faced with an attacker," he instructed, his tone more serious.
Belle closed her fist tightly around the hilt, with the blade sticking out at the same end as her thumb.
Without warning Rumplestiltskin grasped her hand and twisted it down, easily withdrawing the weapon from her grip. Belle gasped in surprise, and felt her face slightly redden at how quickly she had been defeated. Her embarrassment ebbed a little when Rumplestiltskin gave her a reassuring smile, handing the knife back.
"Make a fist around the hilt, this time with the blade protruding from the opposite end. When you wield it like this, you decrease your attacker's chances of taking it from you. Understand?"
Belle nodded, adjusting her grip to match Rumplestiltskin's description.
"Now, show me how you would attack an enemy."
Holding the knife as Rumplestiltskin directed, Belle swiped the blade through the air.
"No, no, when you swipe you leave too much room for your enemy to block the attack and disarm you. Here, try this."
Belle's stomach fluttered lightly as Rumplestiltskin stood behind her and closed his hand over her own, causing her to nearly miss his next instructions.
"When you attack your enemy, do so with a straight jab," he jerked their joined hands forward into the empty air, "Like this." Rumplestiltskin released her hand, stepping aside to watch her try it alone.
Belle nodded, not entirely trusting her voice, and repeated the jabbing motion. Her stomach twisted slightly at the thought of actually using the weapon against another person, but she had been a helpless victim once before and was not so keen to let history repeat itself. She jabbed at the air a few more times, until Rumplestiltskin claimed he was satisfied that she could use it to protect herself properly.
With a light sigh, Belle dropped the weapon into her rucksack, hoping she would never have to use it but relieved she knew how. She sat next to Rumplestiltskin in front of the fire, leaning back on her arms and letting her gaze take in Neverland's night sky. Only a handful of twinkling scars punctuated the expanse of blackness, but there were two moons: one hanging on its side like a sickle, and the other round and full.
A long, chilling howl, similar to but not entirely reminiscent of a wolf's, echoed in the far distance; Belle subconsciously scooted closer to Rumplestiltskin's side.
"Do you think he's scared out there, your son?" Belle asked quietly. A light breeze whispered against the backs of their necks, carrying with it more despairing notes of the distant howling.
"Even if he is, my son has never acted with anything but courage," Rumplestiltskin answered. He stared into the fire, leaning toward the warmth slightly with his elbows on his knees. "I don't believe I've even seen him cry. Not since he was a babe," he added quietly.
"You haven't seen him cry? Not once?" Belle asked, her brow crinkled slightly.
Rumplestiltskin shook his head. "Bae has behaved more like a man than a child since he was very young. I have learned more from him than he has from me." Rumplestiltskin spoke quietly, his tone laced with pride.
"You admire him," Belle stated, smiling softly.
Rumplestiltskin nodded, his gaze fixated on the bright flames before him. More often than not Bae's courage served as his father's crutch, holding his weak form up when it seemed the whole world would have preferred it six feet under. The thought filled Rumplestiltskin with gratitude as well as shame. No son should ever have to carry such a burden: to worry that his father would crumble at the slightest pressure. He wanted Bae to trust him; he wanted to be worthy of that trust.
"We will find him, Rum." Belle leaned her head against his shoulder, hoping he believed her words as much as she did. He did not respond, but his posture seemed to relax slightly at her touch.
They sat like that for a while, until the flames began to diminish and Belle moved to stoke them back to life, adding more kindling from the pile.
"Belle?"
She looked up from her task of restoring the fire, eyebrows raised.
"What was your happiest memory?" Rumplestiltskin asked, his eyes watching Belle's full lips as they stretched into a warm smile.
"It was a memory from my childhood," she began, returning to her seat beside Rumplestiltskin.
"I was seven years old. My parents and I were in the castle gardens. My mother was reading aloud my favorite book, King Arthur, while my father and I playacted the story."
"Let me guess, you were Guinevere?" Rumplestiltskin asked, smiling as Belle laughed.
"Goodness, no! I was much more ambitious than that: I was Arthur, the brave hero who altered the tragic fate of his people." She answered, drawing back her shoulders and puffing out her chest with mock bravado.
Of course, he should have known. "How...eerily prophetic," Rumplestiltskin quipped lightly.
Belle chuckled softly, playfully swatting him on the arm, before continuing her tale.
"We portrayed every daring swordfight of the Knights of the Round Table, every magical spell cast by the wizard Merlin." She waved the stick in her hand as though it were a wand, chuckling lightly. "Sometimes my mother would pretend to stumble over a word, so that I would have to practice my own reading and sound out the syllables for her." She smiled softly, shaking her head.
"But my favorite part was when Arthur finally frees Excalibur from its stone sheath. My father held a stick tight in his grasp. I pulled once, to no avail. I tried again; the sword did not budge. But on the third attempt," Belle held the stick she had been using to stoke the flames high into the air, grinning broadly, "Excalibur was mine!"
She laughed freely, recalling how her mother had clapped loudly as her father hoisted his young daughter onto his shoulders, shouting to all the land that Arthur was king!
Belle's laughter soon quieted, a soft sadness entering her gaze. She slowly lowered the stick to her lap, her eyes following.
"That was the...last time we were all together, before my mother died..." She swallowed hard, unable to say any more.
Rumplestiltskin had assumed Belle's mother had passed when she was too young to remember, perhaps when she was born. She had not mentioned her once during their fireside (or tabletop) chats at the Dark Castle. He now realized that her silence on the matter was not due to an absence of memory, but an abundance of hurt.
He had a sudden urge to tell her how close she had come to losing her only living parent, to confess how close he had been to unwittingly doubling her pain when he nearly beat her father to death.
But then, she might leave him...and as warranted as that response would be, he could not bear to watch it unfold, not here, not after only one day of having her with him again.
Rumplestiltskin hesitantly placed a hand over one of her own, relieved when she turned her hand over and entwined their fingers. They sat in silence for a while, their eyes trained on the dwindling flames and their minds remembering the loved ones they had lost.
They were both pulled from their bittersweet reverie when a wide, unbidden yawn escaped Belle's lips. Rumplestiltskin rose, clearing a space upwind of the fire's smoke for them to sleep. He gestured for Belle to lie down, covering her with one of the flannel blankets they had packed.
Rumplestiltskin lied down a couple feet across from her. She smiled softly at him, tucking an arm beneath her head. No words could convey the consuming rush of gratitude and amazement and love he felt for this woman who should flee, but instead follows willingly; this woman who could be nestled in a warm bed worlds away, but instead lay on a hard patch of earth in a strange land. Rumplestiltskin tentatively brought a hand to her cheek, his fingers hovering over the warm flesh. Slowly, he traced a finger along the line of her jaw, still amazed that it did not pass through her like a mirage, that she was here, with him, alive and safe.
He watched the firelight glinting in her auburn curls and reflecting in her brilliant turquoise eyes, mesmerized.
"You are so beautiful," he heard himself whisper.
Belle smiled warmly, reaching across the space between them to wrap his hand in one of her own. Rumplestiltskin watched as her eyelids slowly slid closed, eventually falling asleep himself to the sound of her soft, even breathing.
A/N: If you would like to read more about how (I imagine) Belle's mother died, you are more than welcome to view my story Redemption. *shameless self-promotion* :)
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