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Chapter 6 – Day 3: Paradise on Earth

Just one more day.

Was Belle's thought when she woke up in the morning. Just one more day and they would reach Gaevo. She would depart from her merry companions, go back to reality and find a way to travel to King Leopold's castle. She felt so nervous; she practically had to force her breakfast in. Her stomach felt like a knot, but she knew, if she wouldn't eat, she'd never have enough strength to keep up with Rumpelstiltskin's pace. Belle thought it was somehow humiliating that an older man, and worse of all, a cripple would endure this journey better than a young and fit woman. She could not see any trace of tiredness on his face, neither on Baelfire's. And so she wondered how frequently they made this kind of trips. Her body felt sore, her muscles ached, but she decided to ignore it. Just one more day. And what for kind of future was reserved for her, was something Belle tried not to think about.

"Is there something? You look worried." Baelfire, wiser than any kid of his age could be, asked Belle.

"No, I'm okay."

"You're not tired yet?" Belle dared not to answer, but shook her head.

"Were you thinking about tomorrow?" Why, Belle thought, was this boy this assertive?

"It feels strange. The thought of it… I feel I know you much longer." She confessed.

"You're not rid of us yet, dearie; so there's no sense in starting to miss us already." Rumpelstiltskin said, without facing her, but she could already picture his face with his half teasing grin and shrewd glint in his eyes. She instantly smiled. This was her last day with them, so she might as well enjoy their last time together. And so she pushed any other dark thoughts away.

"Today we are going to an amazing place!" Baelfire said, full of enthusiasm. "You will love it." Belle stared at him with curiosity, but the boy revealed nothing further, his father even less.

Few hours later, just before noon, Belle could hear the sound of running water. They had climbed for the past hour and she had struggled not to reveal any of her fatigue. Seeing Baelfire run the last piece made her feel relieved, for she knew they were stopping, at least a while. When she finally reached the spot, Belle could not believe the sight, for it was too beautiful to be real. They reached a place where the river fell in a fresh cascade from a higher point and formed a lake before it regained its regular caudal. The trees of different shades of green were reclined over the pool, the sun rays penetrated between the leaves, leaving shinny sparks all over the water. She stood a while taking the beauty of the place in.

"I wonder if the water is cold." She heard Rumpelstiltskin ask, more to himself, as he stood on the edge of the pool, staring at the water.

"Why don't you see it for yourself?" Baelfire pushed his father into the water. A loud splash followed and soon Rumpelstiltsking emerged from the pool's depths, hair all over his eyes. Belle was staring eyes-wide and covering her mouth, not knowing if she should laugh or be shocked.

"Baelfire! You! Twit!" The man scolded, clearly upset. Baelfire seemed a bit taken back and came to the edge of the pool, still in a half teasing mood, but also a bit afraid. "Come, help me out of here." His father commanded and raised his hand for help. The boy held it, but what he didn't expect was his father to pull him into the water. A second splash followed after Baelfire flew over his father's head. He too emerged, looking shocked. "Eh, didn't see that one coming, did you? Little buffoon."

Belle breathed out of relieve and started laughing, seeing the hilarity of the situation. Baelfire and Rumpelstiltskin were also laughing, throwing water at each other. A spirited wrestling in the small lake was followed and soon Belle noticed they were both good swimmers. She sat on the edge of the pool and put her legs in the water. The coolness relieved her swollen feet. She sat watching how they defied and struggled each other, swift and weightless in the water. After some time, having enough of Baelfire's explosive energy, Rumpelstiltskin crawled out of the water. He let himself collapse on his back next to Belle with a complaining groan.

"Tired?" Belle asked amused. Rumpelstiltskin had his arm over his eyes, covering them from the sun.

"I'm not twenty anymore!" Was his blunt reply.

"You're not that old."

"I'm not that young."

"How old are you anyway?" Belle asked out of pure curiosity. She already knew Baelfire was thirteen, but she could not quite pinpoint his father's age.

"Old enough!" He complained.

"Old enough for what?"

"To have more brains."

"I've heard some people never grow up." Belle said with a sly smile. Rumpelstiltskin took his arm away so he could face her.

"Is than an insult?"

"It's a way of staying young." She wisely observed. Rumpelstiltskin stared suspiciously for a moment, seemed to accept Belle's words and covered his eyes again. "So, how old are you?" Belle insisted.

"He's not going to tell you." Baelfire yelled from the center of the pool.

"Will you?" But Baelfire shook his head.

"Try to guess." The boy suggested.

"I wouldn't dare. I'm awful telling ages."

"Come on! Give it a try." Baelfire insisted. "Look, for your consolation, nobody ever guessed his age." Belle was curious now and stared at the man lying next to her. His face was still covered, so she could not give a better look at it. Suddenly she felt shy and sensed her cheeks were starting to burn. "Try to guess." Baelfire's voice almost echoed on the small lake.

"Uhm, I don't know…45?" Rumpelstiltskin let out a chuckle, never lifting his arm from his eyes. Belle felt her cheeks burn even more at his reaction. She looked at Baelfire and saw him pointing up. "46…48? Come on, you cannot be older than 48!" Belle said with disbelief as Baelfire's finger kept pointing up.

"I appreciate the compliment, dearie, but I am older than 48."

"Well, I give up! I told you I'm terrible in telling ages." Belle said annoyed and now wanting more than ever to know the true age of this man. Rumpelstiltskin lifted his arm a bit, enough to see her.

"Giving up already?" He mocked. Belle turned to him, shrinking her eyes.

"Well, you surely are not over 50." Belle's eyes widened of pure disbelief when Rumpelstiltskin's grin widened. He was having the time of his life. "No! How old are you?" Belle almost yelled. The man laughed softly and covered his eyes again.

"51."

"Impossible!"

"51, dearie. Not a year less, not a year more." He proudly stated.

"You're not normal." Belle said dejectedly and let herself fall on her back. She remained lying next to the man that obviously had found the fountain of youth. Her father was only three years older and looked like he was already sixty or more. She turned her head to face Rumpelstiltskin. Sensing her move, he removed his arm to look at her. Their eyes met and for just a short moment, both realized, there were no age boundaries.

Rumpelstiltskin and Baelfire were gone "to hunt a rabbit," as they had said. The cripple left the hint they would be away for a while and she surely would heard them return, since they were so noisy. This was his subtle manner of telling her to enjoy the lake's waters too. And Belle accepted the invitation. Once they were long gone, she entered the water with her light white under dress. It would have been unthinkable of her to have joined them earlier. Her blue dress would have become too heavy in the water and the under dress was practically transparent. She enjoyed the coolness of the water, working wonders to her tired body. The water did not only restore energy to her body; it washed her troubled thoughts away and revitalized her spirit. After a relaxing swim in the clear waters, she lay on the green grass to dry her dress and before she knew it, she was dozing off.

Belle woke up with the sound of laugher far away and thanked the gods her under dress was already dry. She hastily dressed her blue outfit and sat like if she was waiting for them a while. When they arrived, Rumpelstiltskin's gave her an interrogative look. She nodded letting him know she had taken a swim. Then Baelfire happily displayed the dead rabbit. The princess was grateful at the thought of eating something more substantial. And as she had expected, the lunch was great. They merrily ate, laughing and joking, all clearly happy with the change of menu. It was getting late when they finally left, but Rumpelstiltskin had reassured them it was not such a long walk anymore. They reached their last stop before Gaevo when the sun was setting. During diner everybody seemed to realize what the next day reserved. They would take separate ways. And nobody seemed happy with the idea. They ate in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Only when they finished, did Rumpelstiltskin break the silence.

"We'll leave at daybreak. I want to be early in the marked." He said as he pat the bag with the good quality wool he had spun. "Do you have somebody to meet there?" He asked Belle. She lied, saying yes with a confident smile, to drive any suspiciousness or worry away from the man. He seemed to believe as he gave her a small nod. "No stories tonight, Bae."

"But Papa!" The boy whined.

"Not but. We have to get up early. If it was up to you, you'll stay up all night only to chat."

"Like if you found it a bother." The boy replied, while he lay down. "Night, Papa. Night, Linda."

"Night Baelfire." Belle closed her eyes.

It felt wrong to deceive them. But they would never let her go otherwise. They could not know who she was, where she was heading to. The last thing she wanted was to endanger them. Tomorrow, she would find a way of departing from them, without raising suspiciousness. Farewell would be difficult, but necessary. Belle sunk slowly into a deep sleep; her last thoughts telling her tomorrow would be a long day.

If only she knew how right she was.

I actually thought Robert Carlyle ( ) was around 45! I'm using the actor's true ages in all characters of this story (unless I say otherwise).

This chapter is like the old saying: The calm before the storm.

Hope you enjoyed the reading.

Review.