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Chapter 52 – day 45 – the engagement

There was a moment of profound silence as everybody stared shocked at the Princess. She took a deep breath and straightened herself making clear she would stand her ground. The beauty couldn't help letting a smile escape when she felt Rumpelstiltskin's fingers curl around her hand. She glanced briefly at him and he was looking at her with the confidence that told her he would not budge to these men's demands either.

"Princess Belle. You cannot give up the throne. Not in such times…You are the only heir." One of the commanders said, unable to hide his shock

"We'll, in that case you have a problem. I won't be your Queen unless you let me stay with him." She said more confidently, realizing she had put the men in a quite difficult situation. She had given them a great dilemma. They were forced to choose between the law and the future of the kingdom.

"You are willing to give up everything and abandon your soldiers for him?" Belle almost flinched at the way the commander had put the question. It was meant to make her feel guilty, undeserved and selfish. But she would not let herself be wrapped by manipulation and emotional black mail.

"Abandon? You have no idea of the difficulties and sacrifices I've made to save this kingdom! To give hope to our soldiers, to our people! I was the one who succeeded in summoning military help for the armies of Armithil in the first place, not you! But I am sure you will be able to conquer the kingdom perfectly well without me, and then rule it by yourselves. Because, I honestly don't see why you want me so much to be your Queen, when it's obvious I will never be able to implement my functions, since it's the Council that will always decide everything, despite of what I think of."

"That is not true my Lady."

"Oh yes, it is! A woman in the court of Armithil has no voice! And I do not wish a life like this! I have proven I can rule, I have proven I can make crucial decisions, the right decisions! Yet I'm forced follow ridiculous old fashion and pointless laws made by men like you! I refuse to marry somebody appointed by you! It will be my choice and not yours. And since I'm closest thing you have as a ruler right now, I suggest you change the law concerning marriage among aristocracy or I will renounce the throne today still!"

Again a horrible silence hung in the air. Belle hid her fears behind a confident and determined mask. But in truth, she was terrified; scared her threatening somehow wouldn't have effect on them. She feared they would disregard her words and still force her to marry some other brutal knight. She was already thinking of running away with Rumpelstitlskin, if that would be the final outcome. She watched the men whisper among them and it was Rumpelstiltskin's strong grip around her hand that kept her from vacillating.

"Princess Belle. We will need to discuss your bid as Armithil's Great Council. I request you and the plebeian to wait outside."

"The name is Rumpelstitlskin!" The spinner spat irritated before leaving the marquee, while he was being dragged by Belle. As soon as they were alone they stared at each other worriedly.

"Belle, this is madness. You cannot give up the throne because of me. What if they don't agree with you?"

"Do you want to be separated again? Because this time it will be definitive." The princess asked, her voice cracking, afraid her true love would back away.

"No. I don't think I would survive that." He sincerely said. He sighed heavily. "So, if they don't agree with you, what do we do?"

"We run away. Far away from here." He nodded, finally realizing he didn't care what happened, as long as they stayed together.

"And if they agree?" He asked with a soft smile. Belle smiled shyly and stared at the ground blushing terribly. "You…you really would marry me?" His voice was a mere whisper, but she could hear all the doubts and wonders present, his incredibility in the answer he already knew she would give him.

"Yes." She said, her flush deepening.

She finally had the courage to look to his eyes and swore she never saw so much love and care in somebody's gaze. He bended slightly until their lips met in a tender touch. He placed his hand on her cheek and kissed again and again, ever so gentle and caring. Belle felt herself slowly melt away in the touch and wished the moment would never end. He gently pushed her body closer to his, holding her in his arms while he kissed her lovingly. The sensations were so sweet and gentle that they forgot the world around them and the crucial decision that was being taken inside the marquee. Suddenly their idyllic moment was broken by somebody making a sound like cleaning the throat.

Both startled and smiled shyly at the knowing look Lord Frederick gave them. He gestured them to follow him, the grin never leaving his lips. The couple looked at each other and their hopes grew. When they entered, the men were still staring quite sternly at them and Belle could see by the expression of some, they weren't happy at all. And this time it was Commander Byront who was smiling triumphantly.

"We have some questions for the ple…for Rumpelstiltskin." The spokesman begun. "If you accept in marrying the princess, are you aware you will be marrying the kingdom too?" The spinner's eyes widened a bit frightened, but he nodded in compliance. "You do realize you will have to learn the ways of the court, manners and formalities, learn about the laws and the politics and many other matters regarding the kingdom." The man paused, staring challenging at the spinner who looked more and more intimidated by the minute. "Can you even read?"

"N-No sir, but I-I am willing to learn." The man made a muffed annoyed sound but nodded.

"This will be a complete life change. You won't be able to go back to your old ways. From the moment you compromise yourself to the princess and the kingdom you cannot just do whatever you want, whenever you wish. Standing by the future queen demands a lot of responsibility. Do you think you can handle it?" Rumpelstitlskin stared petrified at the man. He realized with one word he could turn his life completely upside down. Nothing would be the same again. All his movements would be closely followed and judged. He knew by the manner this man was pressuring him, the court would try to control him, intimidate him, challenge him and push him to the limits. And he was terrified by the thought of it. He looked to the side and his eyes met Belle. She was looking at him in fear. Fear of losing him all over again. And it was that exact look that made him take his final decision.

"Yes. I can handle it all." He said with such determinacy the spokesman actually looked surprised. He was speechless for some moments.

"It will bring changes to your family too. Especially your son." He insisted.

"I am aware of it. But the boy is clever and strong. I'm sure the life in the court will be less scary than an oversized dragon, anyway." His words were like a punch in the man's face. That was not something he could argue against. The commander gave the spinner a look like if had just swallowed something tasting awful. He switched looks with his colleagues and sighed deeply.

"Then, I guess I can speak in name of all the members of the High Council of Armithil, we agree to open an exception in the princess's marriage requirements, considering the exceptional deeds and loyalty of Rumpelstiltskin towards the kingdom, despite his social background. We will accept your engagement."

Belle had to resist the urge of jumping and screaming of joy but limited in strengthening Rumpelstiltskin hand's grip. He looked at her with a surprised expression, not quite believing what he had just heard.

"We will announce your marriage tomorrow, first thing in the morning." The Commander said eloquently, although sounding quite bothered. "Ah, and another thing. Please be moderate with you public displays of affection." He added, shrinking his eyes dangerously at Rumpelstiltskin, who gulped intimidated but nodded. "Then I declare the conclusion of this meeting. A goodnight to you all. Gentlemen. Princess."

Commander Byront and Lord Frederic came immediately to congratulate the couple with happiness, their example being followed by all the members of the council, although most of them were clearly reluctant. As soon as everybody left the marquee, a strange silence filled the place. Rumpelstiltskin and Belle stared at each other speechless and full of incredibility. Not able to hold it back anymore, the beauty gave a small joyful yell and jumped happily, while she hugged her fiancé. The spinner laughed at her reaction and pushed her by her waist to press her body against his. They locked their gazes, ecstatic with the prospect of spending a lifetime together. They kissed again, but this time the kiss was deeper and more passionate. Belle was sure she could never get tired of his advances, of his touch and earthly scent. The more they kissed, the better it felt and the more they were together, the more they were connected. Of course, their perfect moment couldn't last forever and this time it was Charleston's voice that ripped them away from their perfect environment.

"You are getting married?" The old man exclaimed with incredibility, Baelfire and Humbert standing right behind him, smiling widely. Lord Frederic had of course broken the news as soon as he saw the spinner's family outside.

"By the name of the gods! Have you ever heard of privacy?" Rumpelstiltskin yelled frustrated each time he was alone with his beloved, somebody would interrupt them. The old man ignored his complaint and hugged his son, kissing him on each cheek, causing a groan of protest from the spinner. Then he turned to Belle, with tears in the corner of his eyes.

"My beautiful daughter-in-law!" He yelled. He gave the girl a tight hug and kissed her the same manner as he kissed his son. Belle was happily surprised by the old man, always having sensed some kind of mistrust around him. "Welcome to the family." He spoke with sincere contentment. "Oh, Elisabeth is going to be thrilled!"

Humbert congratulated his uncle and aunt-to-be, wishing them the entire world's joy, but soon, he was being dragged by his grandfather out of the marquee so Rumpelstilstkin, Belle and Baelfire could be alone. The teenager stared at them shyly but with a smile that revealed all the joy that was busting in his young heart. Rumpelstiltskin pulled his son to him and they embraced tightly. The teenager soon had his arms wrapped around Belle too and they remained a long while like this. It was hard to believe, their accidental meeting in that one night, when Belle had fallen from a hill and hurt herself would lead to this moment. They had lived many adventures together, shared joy, sadness, fears and surpassed many tribulations. A strong bond developed between them and beyond all odds, separation strengthened it. Baelfire was crying of joy. He was happy his father finally had found love. And he was happy it was Belle. For he had loved her from the first day he met her. The day she introduced herself as Linda, the maid. And now he would have the mother he never had. It was a very emotional moment for the three, as kisses and caresses were shared among tears of joy.

"I'm so happy for you guys." Baelfire finally managed to utter. His father kissed him on his head and whispered he loved him. Belle was too moved to speak and held the two males that had become so important in her life. They took their time to slowly compose themselves and laughed at their collective emotional display.

That night the family celebrated quietly and Belle couldn't help feeling each time surprised by the old man's happiness and kindness towards her. She wondered if Charleston too shared his son's negative image from aristocracy. That would have explained his initial suspicious behavior towards her. He probably was afraid she was fooling his son and playing with his feelings. But now that she had proven her sentiments for Rumpelstiltskin were real, he seemed to be more than glad to accept her in his family.

That night, when everybody was asleep, Rumpelstiltskin moved away to a more isolated place and sat in front of a fire. His mind was bursting with thoughts and he could not sleep. After a while, he sensed a rustling next to him and saw it was the woman-soldier Mulan.

"Can't sleep?" She asked. He nodded with a smile. "Well. It's quite a life changing decision you took today. I commend you."

"Thank you." There was a moment of silence, as both stared at the yellow flames burning the wood. "I'm terrified." He finally confessed. "That I might fail." He looked at her and she nodded in understanding. "It's all quite overwhelming. What if it's too much and I end up disappointing everybody?"

"You will be fine." Mulan said while she rested a hand on his shoulder. "I remember the day I ran away from home, disguised as a soldier to take my father's place in the war. I was so scared I would fail and dishonor my family. I was afraid people would mock me and despise me for breaking all the rules. In my country, a woman's place is at home and her destiny is to be a good wife and mother. The war is something exclusive to men. But I proved them wrong and in the end, even my country's emperor accepted all my disobediences to old laws and traditions."

"How did you do that?"

"By believing in myself. By never giving up. By reminding myself I was doing everything for my father and for my family's honor."

"You are truly an exceptional person." Rumpelstiltskin said with a smile and Mulan rested her hand back on her lap.

"You will be fine. Your willpower comes from your heart. And that makes you strong." The spinner smiled, feeling better at the woman's words. His eyes rested for a while on her hands and he suddenly had an idea.

"Mulan. Will you do me a favor?"

So...are are your thouhgts so far?

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